High School A Never-Ending Obstacle
by DaydreamingSoundly210
Summary: Hinata is in a new school. Now that she goes to the same school as her friends, see how her story unfolds. She will make new friends who will help to shape her story and also some enemies :-o. The genres say Romance/Friendship, but it's also Hurt/Comfort, Drama, and maybe, Humor.
1. Last Day of Freedom

**Ok soo this is my very first story…..ever. So let me know what you think and if I should continue this. :3 And any comments welcome. Italicized words mean flashbacks. Italicized words with quotation marks are the character's thoughts. This story is going to include different views of different characters. I hope to make this story long. This took me a while to write. Putting your thoughts onto words (or in this case on screen xD) is harder than I though -_-' But anyhow, hope you like it, even a little. Ps. I apologize ahead of time if there are any mistakes and if they annoy you. _**

Hinata's POV (Point of View)

Ugh. Light is peering through my curtains, which tells me that it's already morning. I sigh to myself. School starts Monday, which, sadly, is tomorrow. I yawn, stretch, and then get out of bed so that I can start my day. My name is Hinata Hyuga. I am going to be a new student tomorrow at some school a few miles away from the neighborhood I moved to last summer, called Konoha High School. I have lived in Konoha since I was in diapers, but move a lot. I hope this is the last time I have to move. I only know three people who have already been attending that school for a while. Kiba, for starters, has been my best friend since we were 4. My family's last move was luckily to his neighborhood. Another bonus was that we moved to the new house right next to his. Across from us lives Shino, who joined our little posse about 5 years ago. Tenten, whom I met when I was 9 while taking self-defense classes, lives across from us. Neji, my cousin and currently dating Tenten, lives in a different neighborhood, but visits every weekend.

Anyways, last night Kiba called me and invited Neji and I to the mall. We were going to hang out and enjoy our last day of freedom. I go to the bathroom, shut the door, and take a long look at myself and sigh once again. I honestly hate how I look. My skin is as pale and milky white as a lifeless body, while my eyes are a strange shade of lavender. I look like I have no pupils. I'm shorter than almost everyone I know. The only semi-interesting part of me is my hair. If you look at it, it appears black. But in the sunlight, it's a very dark shade of blue. Those, alone, are just my physical traits. As for my character traits…I'm usually shy and quiet, especially around new people and in new places, which is why I'm so screwed tomorrow if I have no classes with Kiba or Shino. Tenten and Neji are both a year older than me, so I only will get to see them in the morning before classes and during lunch.

I usually warm up to people, but that usually takes a while. It was different with Kiba though. He was, and still is, different than most guys. Hell, he's different than most people. He and I are opposites though, yet, we click. He's loud, at times a little arrogant and crazy, and doesn't give a crap about what other people think of him. He doesn't care about popularity at all, which is good for me. Otherwise, we possibly wouldn't have stayed friends for so long. Back at my past schools, I never had very many friends. I, as I said before, am quiet and very shy. I was always the dork that everyone picked on. I was always the kid that always sat alone during lunch and was always picked last in games. I did have a few friends from time to time, besides Kiba, Shino, Neji and Tenten. Usually, though, after a few weeks, they would usually stop hanging out with me when they saw how quiet I was. Though, now that I think about it, I do recall one particular friend. Her name was Sakura Haruno.

_I remember how excited I was Sakura joined my elementary school 4th grade. For once I wasn't the new student. On her first day of school, I was hesitant to go up to her. I was such a dork. Since Kiba and Tenten and Neji went to different schools, I was always lonely at school. I only saw them on weekends. I knew that since they wouldn't always be around, I would need to make some friends at my school, so I'm not always lonely. But there was a problem. What if even the new kid didn't want to associate with me either? Was I willing to go through that embarrassment just to find out that she wouldn't want to be my friend? I remember taking all my courage and making my way to her. She was all alone under a tree, reading. On the way there, I was thinking of possible conversation starters. I could compliment the red ribbon in her hair. The way it was tied at the top of her head reminded me of a bunny. Or I could compliment her on her bubble gum pink hair, which I would later find out was her natural hair color. By the time I reached her, I immediately regretted walking to her, after getting a better look of her. She was gorgeous- way too gorgeous to be my friend. I turned away and was about to run off when I heard a voice call out, "Hey! Wait up!" I turned around and saw that Sakura had gotten up and was now directly in front of me. We were the exact same height. She was smiling at me and held out a hand. Her finger nails were painted the same shade as her hair. "My name is Sakura," she said. I stared at her hand for a few seconds then gently took it. "I-I'm Hinata." She smiled at me. "You have a very pretty name and you are very pretty too. I wish I had your eyes." I blushed. I wasn't used to people complimenting me. "Y-you're p-p-pretty too. I-I love your hair," I stammered. She giggled. "Really? Then you can have it. I hate my hair. I look like a freak." "Hardly." I said firmly, surprising myself. She smiled at me. "Well Hinata, wanna be friends?" I smiled for the first time that day. _

_Sakura and I started hanging out a lot after that day. At one point I introduced her to Kiba, Tenten, and Neji. Shino wouldn't come into the picture until 5th grade. She and I were practically inseparable in school. My elementary school teacher was kind enough to put us together when she organized seating charts. She knew how lonely I was before Sakura came along. She also knew that we weren't trouble makers, so she could trust us together. We were even put in the same group for field trips. Life was now better than great. During the weekends I got together with Kiba, Tenten, and Neji. During week days, I had Sakura. All was good, that was until 6th grade._

_6th grade was supposed to be a big year. Sakura and I planned for it to be so. It was our last year of elementary school. We were now considered the "big kids." The younger kids looked up to 6th graders. They couldn't wait for the day that they, too, would hold our status. Though, me being in 6th grade certainly didn't change the fact that I was still and always would be a dork. And it was a big year, but not exactly in a positive way. The transition between 6th grade and 7th grade is an awkward one. You are just leaving the cootie stage and starting to notice boys or girls in ways you never thought you would. If a guy and girl are friends, people assume that they're going to become more than that. What you wear has started to matter to others. Now you can't just go up to anyone and ask them to be your friend. Some people even start experimenting with make up too, in anticipation of growing up and being ready for junior high. Cliques have started to form. The word "backstabber" has started to be understood. Drama has started too. Though, I wasn't worried because I had Sakura and Sakura had me…at least so I thought._

_Sakura and I, admit, had always been a bit different. But so were Kiba and I, so I never worried too much about it. Sakura had a bit of a temper at times, while I always was calm. I did get upset, but I never really showed it. Sakura always joked around about one day I would just…snap. I still haven't to this day though. Sakura also started to speak her mind, which wasn't a bad thing. I am a bit more timid though. Sakura started getting into makeup and fashion, which wasn't a bad thing. I never was interested in makeup. Also, fashion wasn't my strong point either. Sakura also started getting into gossiping, which wasn't a bad thing. I honestly, though, wasn't a fan of talking about others behind their backs. You never know what went on behind closed doors. As my teacher used to say, "Everyone's fighting some battle of some sort." Sakura then started hanging out with other people, which wasn't a bad thing. After all, I didn't own her and she certainly didn't own me. She could hang out with other people. After all, I always hung out with Kiba. New friends weren't a bad thing. I was even happy that Sakura found people she could relate to more…at least so I thought._

_Sakura started talking to a new girl. I forgot her name. I think it was Karin something or other. I remembered that she had bright red hair. She looked gorgeous, even with her glasses. She was near-sighted so she had to wear them all the time. Of course, though, she wasn't as gorgeous as Sakura. She had a good taste in clothes. She never wore anything too many times, except for this particular pair of boot s she had. She managed to make them work with any outfit. She, just like Sakura, started to experiment with makeup. A lot of guys had a crush on her. A lot of people hated her because she could be a bit…bitchy at times. Yet, people strived to be her. She was popular, beautiful, and could have any friend she wanted with a snap of her fingers and a bat of her eyelashes. She could have had any friend, so why did she have to have to take Sakura?_

_Eventually, Sakura and Karin became friends. Karin introduced Sakura to her other popular, hated, yet loved friends. Sakura and Karin bonded. This wasn't a bad thing, though. Sakura and Karin started hanging out outside of school, which wasn't a bad thing. Sakura invited Karin to tag along whenever she and I hung out, which wasn't a bad thing. I didn't mind. The more the merrier, right? Wrong. I started to get left out. I started to be the third wheel. It went to being just Sakura and I to, Sakura, Karin, and I. Then it turned into just Sakura and Karin. They were now inseparable. They talked badly about others. I didn't like it, but I just learned to ignore it. Though, I hated how different Sakura was when Karin was near. When it was just her and I, everything was fine and dandy. Then Karin would come and take Sakura and they would go do their own thing, forgetting I was there. I started to go back to my old ways. I started to eat lunch alone. I isolated myself from others. I was just starting to come out of my shell, thanks to Sakura. Now, I was going back in, thanks to Sakura. Soon, she stopped calling me every day, like she used to. She stopped replying to my texts. She stopped inviting me to her house. Her style changed. Her personality changed too. Whenever she and I crossed paths, she would turn the other way and ignore me. Sometimes Karin, Suigetsu, Kin, Sakon, Tayuya, or Juugo would say something about some innocent classmate. Normally it was something bad and the whole group would snicker, including Sakura, would laugh. What really showed that Sakura and I were done was on the last week of school before summer, during lunch. I was balancing my tray in one hand and my books in the other. I was on my way to my table, where I planned on sitting alone and eating alone and reading. I wasn't watching my feet, just keeping my eyes on my table. Suddenly, I tripped, landing face first in my lunch. I heard laughter. I looked up and saw the whole cafeteria laughing at me. Karin's crew was laughing the loudest. All of her crew, even Sakura. I quickly got up and tried to run, but slipped and fell again. The volume of the laughter increased. Tears started streaming down my face. I ran home, even though I still had two hours of school left. It was official- Sakura was no longer truly my friend. And you know what? I wasn't her friend anymore either. A week later, my family moved again, because of my parents' jobs. Since I knew she wouldn't care, I didn't bother to tell Sakura. A month after my family moved to the Sand Village, Sakura texted me a few times, but I was still hurt from all she did. She practically ditched me. My guess was she probably had a fight with Karin and needed someone to confide in that wasn't friends with Karin. She did this a lot before that day in the cafeteria. I would go back to her happily, thinking she was her old self, only for her to make up with Karin and start ignoring me again. Did I want to do that again? Bring back old memories and open old wounds? No. I didn't reply to her texts. Eventually she stopped and I moved on with life._

End of Flashback **(So sorry that was long)**

I sighed one last time. I took a shower, brushed my hair, and went to my closet. I put on a plain

lavender tshirt. I put on dark blue skinny jeans, which Tenten outgrew and gave to me, a black belt, and black converse high tops. I put on a pair of aviator shades that I bought when Kiba took me to a swap meet one afternoon. I giggle to myself remembering the pictures we took. I put my hair in a high ponytail, leaving my bangs as they are, letting them frame my face. I put on a single stroke of mascara on my eyelashes, put on clear lip gloss, checked myself one last time in the mirror and walked downstairs to wait for Kiba. He was going to give me a ride to the mall. I found my younger sister Hanabi with her friend Moegi. They were sitting in the middle of the floor playing some card game. They would glare at each other then start giggling. I smiled to myself. I hope Hanabi and Moegi stay friends for as long as possible. I hear the doorbell ring. I go to the door and open it. Just as I thought, Kiba is standing there, smiling. "Ready to go?" I nod and turn to Hanabi and Moegi. They look so focused on their game. "See you later Hana and Moe-moe, I say, calling them by their nicknames. Hanabi looks up, "Whoa. Hina…when did you get here? Where are you going?" I smile. "About five minutes ago. And the mall. I'll see you later ok?" Hanabi gets up, walks to me, hugs me and then Kiba. "Ok. Moegie and I will be here for a while. Her mom's going to take us to Konohamaru's." She blushes as soon as she says Konohamaru's name, one of her close friends. I giggle. "_Sounds like someone is developing a crush. _"I plan on interrogating her later. I wave good bye. Kiba does the same, then we make our way to his car. We both buckle in and he drives away from my house, to the mall.

**Ok so what do you think? Too long? Not enough? And the reason why I focused so much on Hinata's past with Sakura was because that had a major impact on Hinata. It will all tie into the story later on as it progresses. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I was so excited when I posted it. I really hope you liked it. Again I apologize for any annoying mistakes.**

**Till next chapter.**

**-daydreamingsoundly 3**


	2. Love at First Sight? Psh as if

**Hey! I was bored and feeling productive. So after studying for my test that's tomorrow, I decided to spend some time on adding to this story. And thank you so much to the people that read and or reviewed.**

**Ok! Now I'm done ranting and everything. Time for chapter 2. I hope to make this story have some funny moments, some cute moments, drama, and some intense moments too. It is high school after all. Let me know what you think! If I have time today, I might write another chapter and post it sometime this week. I won't be able to update that much this week due to school and some stuff I have going on Friday and Saturday. But the week after next week is spring break so I'll have lots of time to update. I have no idea how long this story will be, but it depends on how often I can add to it. Over the summer, since I'll probably be relaxing most of the time, I will update everyday (possibly ) Ok. NOW I'm done ranting. So sorry. If you kept reading on, thank you. If not, I understand. Ok now I'm done -_-' Enjoy**

Hinata's POV

When we finally arrived at the mall, we got out of the car and met up with Shino in the food court. I gave him a hug, while Kiba gave him a simple nod and a smile. Shino returned my hug and nodded back at Kiba. I'm not as close to Shino as I am to Kiba, but he is still considered one of my close (and only) friends. We all just stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, until Kiba broke the silence. "Where's Tenten and Neji?" A shrug was Shino's response. Kiba made a face, but didn't say anything else. "You know dude, you can't always get through life with just gestures. You have to use your words sometimes. Annunciate once in a while." Shino remained silent. If Kiba was in a cartoon, an anime to be specific, he would have sweat dropped (is that what it's called? This face -_-' xD). I stifled a giggle. Those too are so silly. I have a feeling Shino does that on purpose just to piss Kiba off. I hear my phone ding, meaning I just got a text. I pull is out and check.

**New Message from Neji**

"_Hmm. I wonder what he wants. Why isn't he here? Why Tenten Here?"_

I read the message:

**Hey. Hinata. I will not be able to make it. Something came up. Will explain later. Tenten's on her way though….Bye**

**-Neji**

I sigh. Neji has been acting strange lately. I wonder what's going on. I put my phone back in my purse and sit down on a nearby bench. Kiba, knowing when I'm upset, sits down next to me and asks, "Hina-chan…What's wrong?" He looks concerned. "Neji can't come…again." I shrug, and then I pull out my small tube of lip glass and apply on a coat, avoiding Kiba's eyes. I recap the tube and put it in my purse. "He never seems to want to hang out anymore," I accidently say aloud. Kiba puts his hand on mine. "I'm sure he has a good reason. He's not the type of person to flake on someone without an explanation. Well…I would assume. Then again, he's your cousin, not mine." I look at him. "No, you're right." I give a small smile.

"_I just hope everything's okay."_

About ten minutes later, Tenten arrived. After we all said our "hellos," we walked through the mall, not really walking into any of the stores. Tenten seemed a bit off today. She even looked like she had been crying, which was bizarre and concerning. She was one of the toughest people I know. She never cries- well- at least in front of any of us. Kiba and Shino must have seen this too because they kept asking her what was wrong. She just shook their questions off and would change the subject. I kept quiet the whole time. No point in trying to add to her interrogation.

After about an hour or so, Tenten said she was going to go, claiming she had a terrible headache. We all told her goodbye, then she when home to rest. Half an hour later, Shino got a text from his dad, telling him that their family was going out and he needed to come home. They were going to celebrate the last day of summer and his second year of high school. After he left, it was just Kiba and I. He had no plans, and neither did I. My dad was working late, my mom was on a work-related trip, and the Hyuga elders (Neji and I's nickname for our family's older generation) went back home. They had been staying for the summer. Thank god they left. Not that I don't love the elders- they were family after all- it's just…they always go on and about how much of a shame I am to the family. Since I'm shy, timid, and often quiet, they believe I do not live up to the definition of being a Hyuga. A Hyuga must be firm, outspoken, and a leader. They also think I'm too kind and let people walk all over me, which, by the way, is a bloody lie. They still have high hopes for Hanabi though, lucky her.

Anyways, it was just Kiba and I left. After walking through the mall for another twenty minutes, we both got bored. "Want to go get dinner?" Kiba asked. I nodded and then smiled at him. "I would love to."

We decided to go out for pizza. It was totally unexpected. I half expected Kiba to take me to a Sushi bar or to get ramen, which is what we normally do. "Something different," he said, seeing the puzzled look on my face. We sat down in a booth and looked at what the menu had to offer. After deciding on what to get, a waiter took down our orders. After he gave us our drinks, we made small talk, while we waited for our food. Just then, the sound of the door being opened, followed by footsteps and different conversations going on, could be heard. I turn slightly and see a group of people who look to be about Kiba's and my age. My guess? It's a big group of friends who decided to get together for an evening out, the day before the first day of school. I sigh. I've never had that many friends, besides Kiba, Shino, and Tenten. I suppose Neji counts as a friend too. I bet that particular group is probably the popular people of their school. The guys in group are all good looking, with good looking girls to match. The guy that seemed to attract my attention the most though was the loudest of all- well loudest of all the guys at least. He has blue eyes, which I find myself getting lost in. His blond hair reminds me of the sun. He reminds me a bit of Kiba. He even has the same (possibly) trouble-making vibe about him. But who am I to judge a book by its cover? All I can say is damn. He's gorgeous. I feel my face become hot. "Hinata! Are you ok? You're turning red." I feel Kiba put his hand on my forehead. I am unable to speak because I'm still looking at the blonde, blue-eyed, and gorgeous guy. Kiba follows my gaze. A smirk begins to form on his face.

"Don't you dare say anything. Keep your mouth shut," I say, while trying to control my blush. Kiba leans closer to me. "You find that guy attractive, don't you?" My face becomes hot again. "Shut up! No I don't!" Kiba puts a hand on my shoulder. "Wow. Our little Hinata's growing up. Since when have you become interested in boys?" "Shut the hell up!" I shout, a little louder than I wanted to. A few people in the restaurant turn to look at us. Amongst those people is the blue-eyed, blonde-haired boy. I swear I feel my heart skip a beat when he glanced at me. Kiba starts to laugh at me, which makes things worse. He may not care if people judge him or not, but I do. My blue-eyed, blonde-haired boy might think I'm a weirdo now, and he hasn't even met me. Thank God our pizza arrives a few minutes later. At least I could distract myself for a while.

When we finish eating, the bill comes. I offer to split it, but Kiba politely refused. "I got this. I owe you remember?" I laugh a little. "Fine," I say. I check my phone. No new messages, just as I suspected. I sigh a barely audible sigh. Kiba takes out his keys. "Ready to go now?" I nod and stand up.

As we're about to get in the car, I reach in my purse for my cell phone, but can't find it.

"_Crap. Don't tell me I lost it!."_

I frantically search my pockets. Nothing. "I lost my phone!" I exclaim to Kiba. "Didn't you have it with just this second?" I shrug. Kiba pouts. I look at him. "What?" I ask. "Shino's rubbing off on you," Kiba says with much dismay. I giggle, despite my stress. I know it's just a phone, but I use my phone for everything. I keep a little diary on it, whenever I can't access my really diary. There's so much stuff on it about me in it. My fears, my insecurities. My phone's also the only way I can keep in touch with the few, trusted people I know. I will be in so much trouble if I don't find. I wouldn't be trusted enough to be bought a new one. I wouldn't even be allowed to by myself a new one either. It would be another reason for the elders to ridicule me.

I sigh. Oh well. I tried. I open Kiba's door. I am about to enter the passenger seat of his car when I hear, "Hey! Miss!" I turn around. I see my blue-eyed blonde-haired boys running towards me. He stops when he reaches me. "I'm sorry miss, but is this yours?" He holds out something. It's my phone! I nod. "Yes! Thank you so much!" I gently take my phone. I resist the urge to hug him. "Truly am grateful," I say, with a smile. He smiles back. "No biggie, believe it." I smile. I am glad I am finally able to get a better look at him. He looks friendly and is even more handsome up close. He stares back at me. "Hey. You have beautiful eyes," he says. I feel my face grow hot again. "Th-thank y-y-ou," I stammer back. Curse my stutter! He smiles again. "Hell, you're a very beautiful girl," he goes on. I am speechless. He winks at me. My heart flutters." Th-thank y-you," I stutter again.

"_Say something back, stupid."_

"I l-l-like your smile," I manage to say. He beams. "Why thank you, miss." He's very polite. He's too perfect. Something must be off.

"_Or maybe he really is what he seems."_

Ya. Whatever. I silence my hopeful thoughts. "Well, I have to go. Maybe we'll cross paths sometimes?" "Y-yes. Maybe," was my oh-so-clever response. He shoots me one more beautiful smile and walks off. I put my hand to my chest. I've never felt this way before. "Hinata? Ready?" I snap out of my daze and gaze at Kiba. "Uh, yes," I squeak. He smirks at me. We get in the car and he drives out of the parking lot.

**Ugh. What do you think? Too mushy? Haha. Happy couples make me angry :P jk This is what I have so far. I might have another chapter up tonight, depending on how late I finish studying some more. I also have other stuff to take care of before tomorrow. Anyways, thanks for reading. Let me know what you thought of this story. Again I apologize for any mistakes. **

**Till later.**

**-daydreamingsoundly 3**


	3. First Day of School

**Hey, everyone! So school just let out for spring break. So I'll have a lot of time to update. Yay. So this chapter is going to be short. There will be another one up by, hopefully, later tonight. Hope you like it. Enjoy. Let me know what you think.**

Hinata's POV

This morning I wake up with my bedroom overflowing with light. I am blinded. I groan. My guess? Hanabi must have turned on my light when she woke up, hoping it would slowly wake me up. She probably is in the shower as of now.

Sure enough, I hear the shower being turned on. I sigh once more. Today is the first day of school. I hear Hanabi singing in the shower. She's probably excited…more excited than me at least. It's not as if I've never been new before. I even have friends who have already been attending Konoha High, which means I won't be lonely on the first day, since forever. I just, though, can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen. I don't know exactly what will happen and who it will happen to, but something will happen.

"Hinata-oneechan?" I hear an almost inaudible voice say my name. It distracts me from my thoughts and snaps me right back to reality. I look up to find my younger sister sitting on the foot of my bed. Her hair is slightly damp and a little wavy, which I assume is from the shower. She has her dark blue towel wrapped around her body.

"Yes?" I respond.

"I have been sitting here- me, Hanabi, your oh-so-beloved younger sister, has come in a time of need. I beseech you." Hanabi says, adopting a sort of "woe is me" tone in her voice.

I giggle. "You beseech me?" I ask. Oh my God. Hanabi can be so dramatic at times, but I know she's only joking around. I love her to death.

"Yes," she says, trying, and rather failing, at holding a straight, emotionless expression on her face. "I beseech you in this great time of desperate need."

"Okay, I'm listening. What do you want?" I ask, smiling slightly at her.

"Um…Can I borrow your belt?" She asks, giving me puppy dog eyes.

"That's all? I thought you were having friendship problems or trouble with a boy or something and you wanted a piece of my helpful advice." I say jokingly.

"What? No! Mogei and I are stronger than ever. And boys…boys are…boys are….err. Can I please borrow your belt?" Hanabi asks.

"Yes, Hanabi. You can borrow my belt, but…which one?" I ask, while getting out of my bed and walking to my closet.

"The red one. The bright, red one." She answers, eyes twinkling.

"Okay," I answer when I spot the one she wants. "Here you go- say. Since when has this been in here? I ask suspiciously.

"Well, to be honest my darling oneechan…" Hanabi stats to say.

"What? Out with it, girl." I say.

"You bought it two months ago. I kinda sorta borrowed it when you were at Tenten's house. I forgot to give it back. I remembered to though…three days ago. Heh.." Hanabi smiles innocently.

I stare at her.

"I love you?..." Hanabi says with puppy dog eyes again.

I frown at her. "How many times have I told to not come into my room and borrow- no- steal my stuff when I'm not around? Ask first. I mean really-"

"Sorry, if we start this now, we'll be late to school,"Hanabi interrupts me ,"You said you would walk with me to the bus stop, right?"

I sigh. She takes the belt from me and runs to her room.

I decide to get ready. After a long shower, I take time to dry my hair. I'm in no hurry to go to a place where I won't fit in. Sure I have Kiba, Tenten, Shino, and Neji. But, what if they realize how much of loser I really am?

I remember how in 6th grade, I was told that I always seemed gloomy and uninteresting. Ah. I remember now- Karin said that to me. She also said I'm weird too. She and I were alone, waiting for Sakura to be dropped off at school. I remember how it made me feel. I would always wonder if that was the reason why Sakura started drifting away from me? Am I really gloomy and uninteresting? Am I too weird? Did she get bored with me?

"**_No. If you were, Kiba wouldn't be your best friend. He wouldn't have even talked to you. Same with the rest of them."_** I think to myself. But what If I'm wrong? What if I really am and they just managed to look past that?

I finish drying my hair and don't bother to straighten it. I brush it out and put it in a high ponytail once again, the same way I put it yesterday. I leave my bangs as they are. I put on some light pink lip gloss and blot it a little bit so it's not as shiny.

I walk to my room, with a lavender-colored towel tied around me. I shut the door, take off the towel and put on some lavender-colored underwear. I stare at myself in my mirror and immediately blush. "Wow," I say aloud. I giggle. I go to my closet to look at what outfits it has to offer.

I end up settling on a plain white v-neck tshirt with a black camisole underneath. I slip into some dark blue skinny jeans and put on my black converse high tops. I walk downstairs and wait for Hanabi. I hear her running down the stairs. I know it's her because none of the older members of our family would run down the stairs, especially with such excitement. She poses in front of me.

"So. How do I look?" She asks.

I take in her outfit. She's wearing a black tank top, dark blue denim miniskirt, and black leggings that reach her ankles. The red belt she borrowed from me is looped around her waist. It matches the red ballet flats she has on. She is also wearing mascara, which she really doesn't need. I know because her eyelashes look a shade darker than usual.

"Hot." I say, with a smile on my face, giggling.

She smiles back. "I prefer smokin', but thank you."

I shake my head. She cracks me up sometimes.

I grab my house key, my backpack, and walk outside and down the sidewalk with Hanabi.

I even wait with her, as I am still in no hurry to get to school.

"You don't have to wait with me," Hanabi says.

I shrug.

"I want to," I say.

"Thanks," she says, smiling.

She sighs.

"What is it?" I ask.

"What if...what if I don't make any friends?" she asks.

"Well, you have Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon, no?" I ask.

"Yeah, but we don't have any classes together," Hanabi says, sounding disappointed.

"Really?" I ask.

She nods.

Hm...

"Well, I'm sure you'll be able to make some new friends. Who wouldn't want to hang out with you?" I ask, trying to be encouraging.

"Obviously, no one besides Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon," Hanabi says, looking away, "I had no friends when we had lived those few years in Suna. I had the soccer girls, I guess, but still...not the same. We only talked at practice or games."

"Hanabi, it's your first day. Don't set yourself up for failure already," I say.

Just then a boy with black hair runs up to the stop.

"Oh no, am I late?" he asks.

I shake my head, smiling at him.

"No...well, at least I hope not. Otherwise, I would be late too," Hanabi says.

The boy laughs.

Hanabi smiles.

"I'm Inari, by the way," the boy says, holding out a hand to us.

"I'm Hanabi," Hanabi says, shaking his hand.

"Hinata," I say, shaking his hand after her.

"I'm guessing you two are sisters?" he asks, smiling.

We both nod.

"Are both of you waiting for the bus?" he asks.

"Technically, yes, but I'm the one getting on," Hanabi explains, "Hinata is just waiting with me."

"Oh! Okay," Inari says looking at me, "So...I'm guessing you're in high school then?"

I nod and say, "I'm a sophomore."

"What grade are you in?" Hanabi asks.

"8th," Inari says.

"Really? So am I," Hanabi says, sounding happy.

Inari looks excited.

"Really!? Okay, hold on," he says, taking off his backpack and setting it on the ground.

He unzips it and looks through it until he pulls out a paper.

Hanabi looks confused.

"Want to compare schedules?" he asks.

"Sure!" Hanabi says, pulling hers from her back pocket and unfolding it.

They exchange their schedules.

"We have all of our classes together!" Inari exclaims.

"Yeah!" Hanabi exclaims back.

Just then, a school bus pulls up.

"Why haven't I seen you before?" Inari asks, as he and Hanabi give each other their schedules back.

"I'm new this year," she explains.

"Oh! Okay, well want to sit together on the bus?" Inari asks.

"Sure," Hanabi says, smiling.

She looks at me and gives me a hug.

"Thanks for waiting," she says, smiling.

I hug her back and say, "No problem. Have fun, you two."

"Thanks," they say at the same time.

They look at each other and smile.

"Well, Konoha Junior high awaits," Inari says, "Ready?"

Hanabi takes a deep breath.

"Ready," she says.

They both get on the bus and take a seat.

Hanabi, who is sitting in a window seat, rolls down the window and waves at me.

"See you later," she says, smiling.

I wave back and the bus drives off.

I then put in my ear phones and make my way to Konoha High.

** Hope you liked it. I apologize for any mistakes that I missed.**

**Until later,**

**DaydreamingSoundly ^_^**


	4. I Make a New Friend Maybe?

Hinata's POV

After I finally reach Konoha High, I remove my earphones and linger outside the gate.

I check my phone, just in case.

**7 New Messages**

Hmm. Maybe I should have checked my phone earlier.

I open each message and read them.

**New Message from Kiba:** Where are yoooou?

**New Message from Kiba:** Hina-chan? Don't be late for the first day.

**New Message from Kiba: **Hurry up so we can compare schedules!

**New Message from Shino: **For the love of all that is mighty, where are you? Kiba's giving me a migraine.

**New Message from Tenten:** Hinata. Where the hell are you? Kiba's being a pain in the ass. Oh and…love you! Hope you're okay.

**New Message from Kiba: **I'm madly in looove with you, Hinata! All these years, that's why I'm so concerned. Won't you be mine, babe?

"_**What the heck?" **_I think to myself,

**New Message from Kiba: **Hina-chan! Disregard that last text. Shino took my phone. He's being a moron. -_-' I do love you, just not that way. I swear.

I giggle to myself. My phone dings two more times.

**2 New Messages**

**New Message from Neji: **Cousin. Do I have to call a search team? I thought you would be here by now.

**New Message from Tenten: **Sweetie, are you alright? I'm bored! Where's our Hina-chan?

I quickly reply to Tenten's text: **Why would you be bored? You have Neji to entertain you…:P**

**New Message from Tenten: **I hate you…

I reply to her again, while walking through the gate: **Well I love **_**you **_

**New Message from Tenten: **Didn't I tell you? Neji and I are going through sort of….a thing. A bad thing.

I reply: **What?**

**New Message from Tenten: **It's a long story. I don't want to talk about it. Your cousin is way too concerned and is a lying jerk.

I reply: **Watch it girly. He's still my cousin, after all. I'll talk to him though.**

**New Message from Tenten: **No need. I'm done with him, just as I'm done with this conversation. See you when you decide to show your face. Peace.

I reply: **Tennie-chan?**

No reply.

I sigh to myself and put my phone away. I walk around the campus of Konoha High, feeling like a lost, clueless traveler. I have no idea where they said they would be. I stop walking and pull out the map of the school that Neji was kind enough to give me last night when he and my uncle stopped by.

When I'm about to open the map, I feel a pair of hands cover my eyes from behind me. Normally I would freak out and, possibly, punch whoever it was, but I recognized the cologne.

"Kiba?" I ask, even though I'm positive it's him.

"The one and only. That's my name, don't wear it out," is his brilliant response. He then takes his hands off my eyes.

I giggle, turn around, then hug him. "Hey."

He hugs me back. "Hey yourself."

We stay like this for a few moments until a sort of awkward cough breaks the silence.

We immediately let go of each other and see the source of the noise.

"Am I interrupting something?" Shino asks, with a smirk on his face.

I feel my body begin to heat up. "No." I turn to Kiba. We're just friends. Remember?"

Kiba looks back at me, a slight blush on his face. "Ya. Shut up Shino."

We both turn away.

"Where are Tenten and Neji?" I ask.

"Tenten excused herself to go who knows where. She seemed a little upset. She-" Shino is interrupted as Kiba interjects.

"A little upset? She threw a sandwich at me!" Kiba exclaims.

"And Neji went off to find his so called friend-" Kiba, once again, interrupts Shino.

"Which was surprising because I didn't suspect he would have friends, judging by how cold-hearted he can be-" this time it's my turn to interrupt.

"He's not cold-hearted, Kiba." I say to him. He doesn't know all the good that Neji has done for me. If I didn't have him- and Hanabi to for that matter- as a relative, I don't know what I would do.

"He is to me. In fact, almost everyone is mean to me," Kiba whines.

"Gee…I wonder why…" Shino says sarcastically.

Kiba glares at him. Shino stares back.

I smile at them. "Didn't you guys want to see my schedule?"

"Oh yeah! Where is it?" Kiba immediately goes back to his normal, sort of hyper, self.

I pull out my schedule, which I got two days ago when all my paperwork was signed.

"This blows…" Kiba sighs.

"What?" I ask.

"We only have 3 classes together, and one of them is lunch, which doesn't really count as an actual class. So, really, we only have 2 classes together." Kiba looks at me, sadly.

I frown.

"On the bright side, you have one class with Shino." Kiba says.

"Yeah…one…" I take my schedule back, fold it, and put it in my back pocket.

"You won't be lonely for 3 classes. Plus we have lunch." Kiba tries to cheer me up.

I sigh.

"Maybe you'll make new friends?" Shino suggests.

Kiba agrees with him. "Yeah. Make new friends. A fresh new start. Of course though, your new friends will have nothing on us. Just remember that." He flashes me a smiles.

I laugh.

"Just try…for us?" He gives me puppy dog eyes.

"Fine…" I say.

The bell rings and I start to hyperventilate.

"You'll be fine." Kiba reassures me.

Shino nods in agreement.

I take a deep breath and nod at them.

"See you in third hour, I guess," Kiba says while waving.

I wave at him and Shino. I plaster on a fake smile on my face, turn around, and walk off to my first class of the day…which would be…I take out my schedule.

**1st Hour: **Health Class

I stop in front of the classroom, take another deep breath, open the door, and step inside.

As soon as I walk inside the classroom, the conversations that were going on stop and all eyes turn to me. I walk up to a woman who is writing something on the board. I assume she's the teacher.

"E-excuse me?" Darn my stuttering.

The woman turns around. She smiles at me. She has dark brown, almost black, hair. She is wearing a dark purple, button-down blouse that's tucked into a knee length pencil skirt. She has on black pantyhose. "Yes?- Oh a new face. You must be the new student that Tsunade-sama was talking about." Tsunade, by the way, is the principal of Konoha High School. She is very kind…that is if you're not in trouble and get onto her bad side. Kiba told me quite a bit of stories of him and some friend of his named…um…oh yeah, Naruto. They have gotten in trouble countless times. Kiba is always involved, only because kindly tries, and yet greatly fails, at saving Naruto's butt. He and Naruto, if you ask me, sound greatly alike. Maybe that's why they're really close friends.

Anyway, back to the teacher.

She holds out a hand. "I'm Shizune, and I will be your Health teacher for the year."

"Hinata Hyuga. Nice to meet you." I shake her hand.

She smiles. "Class, in case you haven't noticed, this is Hinata. She is a new student here." She then turns to me. "Would you like to say anything about yourself?"

"Um…" I freeze up. "Not really" I squeak.

Shizune-sensei looks at me and gives me a reassuring smile. "Alright then. Why don't you take a seat next to Ino?" She points to an empty seat by a blond, blue-eyed girl, who is busy reading some book.

I nod at Shizune-sensei and make my way over to my designated seat. I look over at Ino. She is wearing a baby-blue tank top, black denim miniskirt, white belt, and a pair of white ballet flats that match her belt. Her hair is in a high ponytail with her bangs covering one of her eyes. She is wearing small, silver, hoop earrings. She immediately strikes me as a "Popular" girl, just by the way she holds herself, with confidence that I will never have. She, of course, is very pretty too.

She must feel me staring her because she looks up at me and smiles. "Hey," she says.

"H-hey," is my brilliant response.

"Got a name? I'm Ino." She holds out a hand.

I shake it. "Hinata."

"Nice to meet you," she says. She closes her book and turns in her seat so that her whole body is facing me. I guess I have her full attention.

"I'm guessing you're new here right?" She asks.

"Yes." I reply.

"You don't talk much do you? Or are you just nervous? Shy?" She asks.

I immediately can tell that she and I are probably opposites.

"Um…" I start to say.

"Speak up girl! You're talking to a girl who spends fifty-two percent of her life with headphones in her ears, blasting some loud tunes." She laughs.

I laugh.

"Well…"

"YES!" She yells.

Half the class turns to look at her.

"Oopsie…louder than I wanted…" Ino covers her mouth.

"You're so obnoxiously loud. Can't you shut up for once?" I hear a familiar snotty voice say.

Oh no. I start hoping that it's not who I think it is.

"Oh hush up! Wanna come say that to my face, Karin?" Ino glares across the room.

"_**Dammit."**_ I think to myself. Who knew I would ever cross paths with her again?

"Girls! Enough, please." Shizune-sensei says, "And Ino, sit back down and face the board like a good student."

Ino blushed and does just as Shizune-sensei asks.

I turn to the board as well and Shizune-sensei begins the lesson for the day.

When it is time to go to second hour, I stand up at my desk and put on my lavender backpack. I sigh, then start to walk out the classroom.

"Hey! Wait up!" I hear Ino's voice. I turn around as she runs to me and stops in front of me. She smiles. "Where are you headed to?"

I pull out my schedule from my back pocket and examine it.

**2nd Hour: **Home Ec.

"Um. Home Ec." I respond.

"Really? No way! Same here!" Ino exclaims. "Let's hurry up before we're late! I need to stop by my locker for a second" She grabs my hand and rushes across the hallway. She stops in front of a locker that's right outside the Home Ec. classroom. I assume it's hers.

She enters in her locker combination, opens it, and shoves the book that she was reading earlier in Health class into it. She checks herself in the mirror in her locker. She puts on some pink lip gloss, smacks her lips, and shuts her locker. Ready?

I nod

She smiles. She takes my hand again and drags me into the nearby classroom. Again with the hand holding. I feel like I'm in fourth grade again.

She lets go of my hand. Baki-sensei! *(I had no idea who else should teach this class xD is this too weird? haha)*

A man writing on the board sighs. "Yes, Ino?" He stops writing and turns to us. He looks at me. "New here?" He asks me.

I just nod.

"Well, I'm Baki. I see you've already met Ino..." He says, with a hint of sympathy in his voice.

"What's that supposed to mean, sensei?" Ino questions.

Baki-sensei, avoiding Ino's question, keeps looking at me. "Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?-"

"No thank you," I say. I then go to an empty station with available seats. I sit in one. Ino joins me and sits in the other.

Baki-sensei gives everyone a few minutes to get settled. During that time, Ino talks nonstop, not that I mind or anything. She tells me about her friends that also attend Konoha High. They seem like an interesting bunch.

"And there's Shikamaru, who is such a lazy ass but incredibly smart. Temari is tough and maybe a little intimidating, but deep down, she's a real sweetheart. She's like an older sister to us and I think she and Shikamaru will end up together. No..not think I KNOW. They're just in denial. They get so defensive when any of us says anything. It's the most hilarious thing." She laughs.

I smile and she continues on.

"Then there's Choji, who by the way loves food. He's very kind too. There's also Gaara, who is one of Temari's younger brothers. He's kind of quiet and seems…cold when you first meet him. But, actually, he really is sweet. I think he has a crush on Matsuri. Matsuri, by the way, is another one of our friends. She's a very nice person. I think you would get along with her just fine. Kankuro's her other brother. Then there's Kiba-"

"Kiba?" I ask, accidently interrupting her.

"Yeah. Do you know him or something?" She asks.

"Yeah. We've known each other since we were four," I answer.

"Hey- Wait! You must be the friend he was telling us about this morning. Small world, huh?" She smiles. "He was going to introduce you to us at lunch, but I guess I'm already a step ahead of the game." She giggles. "Kiba…he's…something else. I mean that in a good way." She smiles. I don't know if it's my eyes deceiving me or not, but I swear I see a light blush on her cheeks.

"_**Interesting."**_ I think.

I smirk. "Isn't he cute?"

Ino becomes flustered. "Wh-what? I- Oh shut up…" She pouts.

I laugh. I rarely am the one who does the teasing. "Whatever. Continue on with telling me about your friends," I say, with a smile on my face.

"Well…oh ya. There's also Sasuke, who, by the way, is one of the hottest guys at Konoha High. All the girls practically drool over him, even if they don't have a crush on him. You should see him. He's "popular," but he still likes hanging out with us, which shows how little he cares about stereotypical status quo. He, too, like Gaara, seems cold at first, but he occasionally shows his soft side, especially for his best friend, Naruto, who is another of our friends. Naruto is hyperactive, I swear. But he's a very good friend. He's a troublemake though, just warning you." She laughs.

I smile.

"And then there's Neji, who looks so much like you, but is nothing like you."

"That's because we're cousins. Our dads are identical twins," I explain.

"Oh wow. Really small world," Ino laughs.

I smile, once over.

Ino continues on, "Then there's Lee, who, by the way, can be a little insane, but is very determined. He's a good friend too. Then there's Sai, he's kind of like Sasuke. He's a very good artist and is very good looking, too. He can say weird, sometimes uncalled for, things though, without realizing it. He's not good at being…social I should say. But, when you get to know him, he's not a bad person. He's popular too. He doesn't really hang with us during school, but outside of school he does," she says.

"Why is that?" I ask

"Well, he has another group of friends, which, like I said, are all popular. He has like no classes with any of us, so it doesn't matter. He has a lot of classes with his "popular" friends though." She shrugs.

I nod. "Okay…"

"And where was I?...Oh yeah! There's also Tenten, who is a bit of a tomboy. She, like Temari, is one you shouldn't mess with. Though, I'm not afraid of her. I'm afraid of Temari though, at times. Anyway, Tenten is a very sweet person.-"

Once again, I interrupt her, without realizing it though, "Tennie-chan?"

"I'm assuming you know her too?" Ino asks with a smile.

I nod. "Yes, since I was…around nine years old…ten? We met at a place I take karate at."

"Really, really, small world," Ino says.

I smile.

"Then there's Sakura," she starts to say.

My heart kind of sinks when I hear her name being mentioned, after all these years. Old wounds are opened. Still, I nod, staying silent.

"She is one of my best friends. She and I met a few years back. She has pink hair, which is natural. Strange, but it makes her unique. You and her will be close, I just know it," Ino says, while smiling.

"_**Yeah. Then she'll ditch you again,"**_ A mean voice in my head says.

"And I think that's it with all my friends. That gets me to…all the other "cliques. From the popular ones to the not as popular ones. Pause for dramatic music," she says.

"What?..." I ask.

"Close enough. Anyway, there's the group of "populars." "You either hate them, love them, strive to be them, or just envy them. Or…do all four for that matter."

I wait for her to continue.

"We- meaning our friends and I- nickname the "populars" the Akatski," she explains.

"Why?" I ask.

She shrugs. "It kind of stuck. It has a negative connotation, which suits most of them."

I nod.

"Just watch your back when you're with any of them. Some of them are decent, like Karin. A lot of people hate her, but I think she's great," Ino says.

"_**Lies,"**_ The mean voice says again.

"In fact, she's one of my good friends. I hung out with her and became closer to her over the summer. She invited me to hang out with some of her friends, too, a few times. Though, like I said earlier, there are some that are pretty decent, but some are jerks at times. But, not all of them are bad. Sai's in that group too. Karin's not that bad. Temar, Sakura, and Tenten beg to differ though. It's mostly Sakura, though. She got mad at me because I hung out with Karin the whole summer. But it's not big deal and she shouldn't care so much. She was on vacation the entire time. Everyone else was busy with their own things. Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro visited family in Suna, Sasuke went to Kirigakure with his brother, Itachi, to spend time with Itachi and his friends. Tenten wasn't free until the last two weeks of summer, which was when I wasn't free. Same with Kiba. Whenever he was free, I wasn't. And vise-versa. I think you get what I mean," She says hopefully.

I nod, "Yes., I do."

"The point is, Karin was always free so we started hanging out more and more. Apparently she and Sakura are like…enemies. Though, they're more similar to each other than they'll ever know. Don't tell Sakura, or any of the others, that I said that."

I cross my heart with my fingers, just for emphasis, "I promise."

She smiles. "Thanks. But anyway, don't let us influence what you think of the Akatski. If you become friends with them, I certainly won't care. The others might, but I'll be on your side," she says.

"Thanks," I say.

"_**Like any of them would even think about hanging out with you, loser,"**_ the voice returns once again.

"And pretty please…don't tell any of them, especially Saki-chan, that I still hang out with the Akatski," Ino pleads.

"Don't worry, I won't," I say.

Ino smiles again, "Thanks."

She looks like she has more to say, but Baki-sensei rises from his desk and goes to the board. "Alright, I think you guys have had enough time to get settlesd. Let's begin," he says.

When class ends, Ino asks me, "What class do you have next?"

I pull out my schedule and read it:

**3rd Hour: Homeroom- **Kurenai

"Um…Homeroom with Kurenei-sensei," I respond.

"She's a sweetheart. She's the art teacher. Are you taking art?"

I nod.

"You'll like her. Can I see your schedule?" She asks.

I hand it to her.

"Darn. We won't see each other until lunch. I have homeroom with Asuma-sensei. I guess I'll see you later?" She asks.

I nod and smile. "Yes."

We go our separate ways.

**So how was that? Was this chapter too long? I think I like writing long chapters because I can get my point across and go into detail. A few chapters ago I said this would be in the point of view of different characters. It will get there eventually xD. Also, in the future, this story will have both intense moments, funny moments, etc. So the mood often changes. One day I might** **write a depressing chapter, another day a more happy, maybe mushy, chapter. You'll never know until you read :3 Anyway, thank you so much for reading. Again, I apologize for any mistakes. I will try to have another chapter up by tonight. **

**Until Later:**

DaydreamingSoundly ^_^


	5. Well, Well, Well, We Meet Again

**was bored…very bored, so I wrote another chapter. It is spring break and I have nothing to do, not that I have a problem with that. I actually like just…relaxing. It is very nice, especially while listening to music. So, overall, today is (or was) a lazy day for me. Don't you just love those kinds of days? And thank you so much for everyone who has read and or commented on this. I didn't expect to get any readers o_o but thank you Anyways, Enjoy! And this chapter, just a heads up, just may be one of those depressing ones I was talking about last chapter, or it may not. You'll have to see :P**

**PS. I haven't been saying this throughout my story…so…here it goes…I do not own Naruto. Don't sue me…I have no money…xD**

Hinata's POV

During Homeroom, Kiba and I make small talk. Shino is in this hour, but he is in one of his other classes, talking with one of his teachers about something.

I tell Kiba about my meeting with Ino. A small, barely noticeable blush appears on his face.

"_**Seems as if someone just may have a crush. Pay back!" **_I think to myself.

"Do you like her?" I ask, with a small smirk on my face.

"What! No! Shut up! You better not say anything. I don't like her!" Kiba yells.

A couple of kids turn to look in our direction.

"_**He and Ino are so alike, it's not even funny," **_I think to myself.

"Alright then…" I say to him.

During homeroom, I meet two more of Kiba and Ino's friends, Sasuke and Naruto. And get this- Naruto is the gorgeous blond-haired blue-eyed boy that returned my phone to me yesterday at the pizza parlor. He recognizes me too. I wonder why Kiba didn't tell me they knew each other, when he was teasing me about blushing over Naruto yesterday.

"Hey, guys. What are you doing here? Aren't you in Kakashi's homeroom?" Kiba asks.

"Hn," is Sasuke's heart-felt response.

"We came to visit. We actually ran into Shino, but he's…being, well, Shino. He kept mocking me. We couldn't find Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, or Shikamaru. Matsuri is hanging out with Sari, one of her best friends, in her homeroom, and Neji refused to talk and Lee's trying to comfort him. Tenten, for some reason, wanted to be alone and Sakura's PMSing…Well, I think she is. She's in such a bad mood," Naruto explains.

"So we're a last resort, Naruto?" Kiba jokingly asks.

I gently smack his arm.

He pretends to be in _so_ much pain, while holding his harm.

"Huh? We?- Oh!" Naruto exclaims when he finally notices me.

Kiba laughs. "So dense…"

Naruto turns to Kiba and glares at him. Then, he turns back to me. "Hey, beautiful eyes. Never thought we would meet again," He smiles.

"_**He's hitting on you. Don't fall for it! Run!" **_The voice, once again, is back.

"We never officially met. I'm Naruto, believe it," Naruto says, as he holds out a hand.

I gently take it, shake it, smile, and say," Hinata."

"Such a pretty name," Naruto says, while smiling.

I feel myself blush. I hope it's not too obvious.

"Oh. And this teme's name is Sasuke," Naruto says.

"Dobe," Sasuke says to Naruto.

"Teme," Naruto retaliates.

"Dobe."

"Teme."

"Dobe."

"Teme-"

"Will you both shut up!" Kiba exclaims at them.

"Anyway, this is Sasuke," Naruto says again.

"Hey," I say with a smile on my face to Sasuke. "Nice to meet you."

"Hn…," is his response.

"Don't worry, he'll warm up to you," Naruto say, while glaring a little at Sasuke.

I smile at him again.

A few minutes later, Sasuke and Naruto decide to go, before Kakashi notices they're gone.

Even though I was a little disappointed at that, I have to say, I actually have a nice time in Homeroom.

During forth hour, I have Math with Iruka-sensei.

Hurray math…

But, it's not so bad because I find out that Naruto is in my Math class as well. Iruka-sensei, just like Baki-sensei, gives us time to settle in, socialize, and get to know each other.

When I walk into Iruka-sensei's class, I look around. I then remember that I will not see that Ino girl until lunch time. I sigh. Once again, I'm alone. At least so I think.

"Hey, Hinata! Over here! Come sit by us!" I hear a familiar, loud, energetic voice call.

I turn in the direction it came from and see Naruto waving at me. He's sitting next to a boy with red hair. His hair reminds me of Karin's hair, just because it's so red. He looks like a cold person. Then again, who am I to judge? Looks can be deceiving. In fact, Ino is a perfect example. I never thought someone like her would talk to me.

Anyway, I walk over to them. The desks are grouped in an interesting way. Each desk is in a group of four. In each group, two desks are right next to one another, with the other two facing them. Since Naruto is sitting next to red-head, I sit across from Naruto.

"How are you, even though I saw you about half an hour ago," Naruto says, with a grin on his face.

I laugh. "Good. You?"

"I'm great! This is Gaara, by the way," Naruto says while pointing to Gaara.

"Naruto, it's impolite to point," Gaara says while slightly smirking at him.

"You sound like my mom," Naruto says while pouting.

"I feel like her too, sometimes. Poor thing," Gaara says.

"Oh shut up…" Naruto says and crosses his arms. "Anyway, Gaara, this is Hinata. She's new. Hinata, this is Gaara. Make friends. Whoop-de-doodle-do."

I laugh. "Nice to meet you, Gaara."

"Same with you," Gaara says.

I assume he's not one to smile much.

"_**Just like Neji." **_I think to myself.

Sasuke seems as if he doesn't smile much either.

I wonder what their stories are.

I never knew I could actually have fun in Math. Naruto made me laugh the whole time. I also loved Gaara's sarcastic remarks to Naruto and Naruto's exaggerated responses to them. Maybe Math will actually be interesting this year. Iruka-sensei, seeing that everyone was being well-behaved and actually socializing and getting to know one another, he decides to just make today a free hour.

"Don't expect this to happen every day though, class," he says to all of us.

During fifth hour, I have History, with Asuma-sensei.

Unfortunately, I don't have this class with Naruto or Gaara. Ino, like I said before, I will not see until lunch. I am very bummed out. I would have even settled for Sasuke, even though he probably wouldn't say much to me. At least I know him (sort of at least).

I search the room for an available seat. As I look around the room, I see something that makes me want to vomit. Karin, along with most of her friends, is in my History class. Part of me wants to turn and run. This is the last thing I need.

Well, maybe she changed. I haven't seen her since what- sixth grade? Surely she, and her friends, couldn't have managed to stay so mean. Maybe she was in a bad mood this morning, when she snapped at Ino.

"_**That's a load of bull, girl, and you know it."**_ Where is this voice coming from?

Anyway, I calm myself down. I'll just sit away from them.

Unfortunately, though, the only vacant seat, coincidently, is in front of Karin and her posse.

I slowly make my way to the seat.

"_**Maybe they won't notice me,"**_ I think to myself.

Nope. I was wrong. As soon as I sit down, I hear Karin, in a snarky voice, say, "Um. Excuse me?"

"You're excused," I reply, without even realizing it, until the words come out of my mouth.

"_**Crap," **_I think. Now all hell will break loose.

"Who the **hell **do you think you are, bitch? You've got some nerve," Karin says.

I make the mistake of turning around. Why? So I could apologize. Apologize to Karin for not taking any crap from her. I'm such a weakling.

"No way!" Karin stands up from- no- practically jumps out of- her seat and points at me. "Suigetsu, Juugo, Tauya, Kidomaru- look!- it's the gloomy freak with the eyes. I thought you left in sixth grade. I thought we finally got rid of you."

"Wow, she hasn't changed a bit. I thought your looks are supposed to get better in time. Four years have gone by, and she looks the same," scoffs Kidomaru.

I blush.

"_**Yeah. You're right. She did change. They ALL changed. They're such good people now,"**_ the annoying, now sarcastic, voice says.

I hear a bunch of my classmates snicker at their comments, which makes no sense. They're as far down the totem pole as I am when it comes to popularity. Maybe they're laughing because now Karin and her friends aren't picking on any of them, for now at least. At the moment, they're not the ones receiving the insults.

Still, they're snickering, and it kind of hurts.

"Alright class," Asuma-sensei says, "Time to begin."

He doesn't even bother to point me out as the new student, like my other teachers have been the entire day. Not that I care. I think they already know who I am now. I have Karin and her stupid friends to thank for that.

Or maybe he doesn't notice me? Like I said before, though, I don't care.

I turn to face the board.

"Loser," I hear someone behind me cough- probably Tayuya.

A bunch of classmates snicker again, this time there's more that join in.

"Class?" Asuma-sensei stops writing and turns around. "Hush. That's enough. It's time to learn." He turns back around and continues writing.

Twenty minutes later, a crumpled up note lands on my desk in front of me.

I, foolishly, un-crumple it and read it:

**You're pathetic and always will be.**

I crumple it back up and shove it in my backpack.

I hear snickers, this time from only directly behind me. I immediately know the note is from Karin, or one of her friends.

I want to sink in my desk and never come out.

During sixth hour, I have English, with Kakashi-sensei. When I walk into class, I see a man with gray hair, who is sitting at a desk at the front of a room. The way it's spiked makes me think he belongs in a science lab, rather than an English classroom. He is too absorbed in his book to notice that I walked into the class, not that I care.

I look around the room. Again, no one that I know or met at all today is in my class. I see an empty seat by a brown-haired girl who is busy writing in a notebook or something. I go over to it and sit down. I can't help but study the brunette.

She's wearing a teal-colored, long-sleeved, off the shoulder top that is tucked into a black knee-length skirt. The strap of a white tank top is exposed on her left shoulder. She has on a pink belt, black knee high socks, and a pink pair of converse shoes.

"_**Interesting outfit…"**_

"_Shut up! I think her outfit's cute. I like her style," _I say back to the voice.

Gosh…I think I'm going mad.

Anyway, besides noticing her outfit, I also notice her movements, not to be creepy or anything.

Her body language makes me guess that she's, most likely, a shy type of person. I can tell this just by the way she's sitting, her posture, and the way she holds herself. Who knows, though? She probably just seems shy at first, but is actually bursting with confidence when you get to know her.

But, who cares? Maybe she and I can be friends too. One of my kind.

Geez…"one of my kind." What am I? An extraterrestrial?

The brunette must feel me looking at her because she looks up from whatever she is writing. She stares right at me. I feel myself blush from embarrassment and immediately look down. I pretend to be busy with playing with my hair and stare ahead of me.

"Um…hey?" I hear a soft voice greet me, with an unsure tone to it. The voice sounds as if it's from the girl beside me.

I turn to back to her and say back, "Hey," with a smile.

She smiles back. "I'm Matsuri. I'm guessing you're new here, otherwise, I would have seen you at least once in my life here."

I nod and smile again.

Matsuri fiddles with the pen in her hand.

Cue the awkward silence.

"_**Say something," **_I think to myself.

But what can I say? What can I ask? Anything to lessen the awkwardness.

I then recall Ino and her list of friends. Matsuri was among them.

"Do you know a girl named, Ino?" I ask.

The brunette nods and smiles. "Yeah. She's one of my good friends. She's kind of loud at times- all the time, to be honest. But, she's a very nice person. She's also good at giving advice, especially when it comes to friends and clothes."

I smile. "Yeah, she seems great. I met her earlier."

"Really? Cool. Did she mention my name or something?" Matsuri asks.

"Yeah, she-" I start to say, before Matsuri interrupts me.

"What'd she say? Oh my God! She's been trying to play cupid ever since school let out last year," Matsuri says.

"Oh. Well she-" I start to say, but Matsuri interrupts me again.

"I don't like Gaara and he doesn't like me! I'm not in denial! I can't believe she would, no offense, tell a person she barely knows that!" I sense panic starting to rise in Matsuri's voice.

"_**Usually, when a person says no offense, it's because they realized what they said offended the person. They just say that in an- often pathetic- attempt to save their sorry butt," **_I think to myself. But I don't bother saying this to Matsuri. She's in too much distress to notice anyway.

"Calm down," I say in a surprising, firm way.

She takes a deep breath. "Sorry, I tend to do that, but on rare occasions."

I shrug it off. "No biggie."

She smiles and I smile back.

So much smiling today. I swear, my face is going to be so sore later. Can't I just not smile? Can't I be as stoic as Neji is a majority of the time?

"Alright class," Kakashi-sensei says as he places the book he was so absorbed in on his desk, "Let's begin."

During seventh hour, I have lunch. As I stuff a few books into my locker and shut it, I think about where I would find that Ino girl or any of the people I met today. I have a feeling lunch with Tenten and Neji will be awkward, due to whatever "thing, as Tenten called it, they are going through. Lee, Neji's best friend, wouldn't make matters any better either. He would probably go on about how "unyouthful" Tenten and Neji are being by fighting. Though, I'm not sure if they are fighting or not because Tenten didn't give me details.

I'm just not in the mood to deal with all of that now.

I walk through the hall with my nose buried in the map of the school, trying to figure out where the cafeteria is. I mistakenly bump into someone, lose my balance, and fall backwards onto my butt.

"_**Ouch,"**_ I think to myself, but out loud, I apologize to whoever I bump into.

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaim, refusing to look up, due to my great embarrassment and shame at my clumsiness.

"No worries," the person says.

I look up so I can get a good view of the mystery person.

My heart sinks when I see a way too familiar pair of emerald eyes looking at me. The mystery person fixes her bubblegum pink hair and holds out a helping hand.

I feel the same nausea I felt when I saw Karin and her friends are in my History class. Memories of elementary school and betrayal saturate my thoughts. I feel my eyes sting with tears that are on the verge of falling.

Why, of all the schools in this town, did she have to go here? Why? Her **and **Karin and Karin's friends. Why? The last thing I need is another repeat of sixth grade.

"I recognize those eyes and hair…Hinata? Holy shit…is that you?" the mystery person asks, "Take my hand. Let me help you up."

I reject her offer help myself up. I then run as fast as I can away from the person. When I'm sick of running, I spot a supply closet. I knock on it, just to see if anyone is there. When there's no reply, I take that as a no, open the door, step inside, shut the door, and lock it. I lean against it and slowly slide down it until I'm sitting on the floor. I draw my knees to my chest and reflect on my past years to the present. To all the times I was hurt, betrayed, insulted, bullied, you name it. Now I have to deal with all of that again. So much for a fresh start.

All the forgotten feelings that I used to have slowly start to return. All of this is overwhelming.

So, I start to cry. All the feelings that I have held in and pushed away come with the tears that fall.

Usually, when I'm depressed or upset, Tenten, Kiba, Neji, or Shino manage to find ways to cheer me up. Since they're not here, and probably don't know where I am, I'm left to deal all alone. Not that I care, though. In fact, I don't want to be comforted. I don't want to always be the weak person who always needs someone in order not to feel alone. The person people always find ways to walk all over on. The person who bottles up how they feel. The person that isn't good enough to have friends or ever be worthy enough for their family.

I cry to the point where I'm actually choking on my own tears. I try to calm down, taking deep breaths. I sigh.

You know that feeling you get after you cry your heart out? That sort of…relieved feeling. It doesn't make your situation any better, but crying helps ease the pain. Or is that just me?

Well, I have that feeling after I finally manage to quiet my pathetic sobs.

I turn on the light in the abandoned supply closet and pull out a small, compact mirror from my backpack. I look at myself. Of course, I look awful. Not that I ever consider myself to look "good," but still, I look awful.

I decide to wash my face in the bathroom, before I get my lunch. I walk to the bathroom. Slowly, though, because I'm in no rush.

I'm thankful that the hall is deserted, so no one has to see my ugly face.

When I walk inside the bathroom, I make my way to one of the sinks. I wash my face, fix my bangs, and reapply my lip gloss. I then take a long, deep sigh. The bathroom is vacant, probably because everyone is in the cafeteria or eating in the courtyard. Or so I think.

I hear a few, light sobs coming from one of the stalls. Sounds like another person is upset.

"_**Should I go see if they're okay?"**_ I ask myself. What if, whoever it is, wants to be alone?

As I argue with myself, the sobs die down. I hear the flush of a toilet and the stall door creaking as it's being opened.

"_**Crap! Get out of there!"**_ The stupid voice commands me.

Before I can even decide on what to do, I hear the footsteps of the person

I am shocked to discover that the crying person is Ino.

Why am I so shocked, though?

"_**Even people like her can cry,"**_ I think to myself.

She's looking down, not noticing her surrounding and, most likely, not noticing me.

She makes her way over to one of the sinks. She sets her backpack on the counter beside the sink she's at and reaches inside. She pulls out a little, dark purple pouch. Still not realizing I'm in the bathroom with her, she pulls out a toothbrush and a miniature tube of toothpaste. She proceeds to brush her teeth.

I want to say something- anything- but I don't want to startle her. I want to ask her if she's okay- no- I want to ask her what's wrong. Usually, if someone asks another person if they're okay, of course they're going to say yes in order to avoid the subject, at least from what I've experienced with, say, Neji or even Tenten.

My main concern, though, is the risk of giving Ino a heart attack, since I would probably alarm her.

Before I can react, Ino puts her little hygiene kit away, puts on her backpack, and turns around, in my direction, since I'm right next to the door.

When she finally acknowledges me, she screams.

I jump about twelve feet in the air.

"Oh my God!" she exclaims as she puts a hand on her chest, "Sorry about that. You scared me. I thought the bathroom was empty."

I study her. Her eyes are red, most likely from the crying. I also take note of the fact that some of the blood vessels around her eyes are broken.

Ino stares at me.

I stay silent and stare back at her.

"What's your damage?" Ino asks.

"Nani?" I ask.

"You heard me. What's your damage?" Ino asks again.

I must have looked confused because Ino sets down her backpack, sits on the bathroom floor, motions for me to sit next to her, and says, "You've been crying."

"No I haven't!" I exclaim, defensively.

"Bull crap," is Ino's response.

"I might ask you the same thing," I retort.

"_**Nice comeback." **_The voice snorts. Maybe I am going mad.

Ino sighs. The expressions on her face change from curious to shameful to downright depressed. She doesn't say a word and just stares at her feet.

I decide to change the subject, for the sake of both of us.

"Why don't we get lunch," I suggest, even though I'm not in the mood to eat anything right now.

Ino shakes her head. "No thanks, I..." she, for some reason, looks at one of the bathroom stalls before continuing on, "already ate."

"Oh," I say.

"_**Fine with me. The last thing on my mind is food," **_I think.

I decide to sit next to Ino on the floor.

She sighs and gives me a small, sad-looking smile.

She then takes out a little mirror from her backpack and looks at herself. She has a mortified expression on her face when she takes in her reflection. She immediately pulls out some make up from her backpack as well. She then goes to work on herself.

I watch as the magic of makeup helps the broken blood vessels around her eyes vanish, at least temporarily. Ino sighs with relief. "Much better," she says.

She then asks me, "Want to go see our friends?"

"Our?" I ask.

She nods. "I'm sure they'll want you as their friend as much as I do. I mean, from what I've heard, you've met a few of them already on your own. So far, they all like you. Well…I know most of the ones you met do. When I talked to Sasuke, all he said was, 'hn,' and then he and Naruto got into their whole 'dobe, teme' thing and Temari shut them up." She laughs.

I laugh.

"So, do you want to?" She asks again.

"Sure," I say while smiling.

She gets up and then helps me up, even though I don't ask for it.

She puts on her backpack, while I double check that I have mine.

We then make our way to the cafeteria.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Ino asks.

"_**You just did, right this second." **_I think to myself.

But to her, I say, "Sure. Anything. Shoot."

"Promise you won't tell," she pleads.

"Tell what?" I ask.

"That I was crying in the bathroom…" she responds.

"Uh sure…but trust me, they wouldn't judge you if they knew, if they're really your friends. You shouldn't be embarrassed to cry. Everyone does," I say.

"I know, but that's not it…" Ino says slowly.

"Then what?" I ask, "You can trust me…"

"I know, but…it's just…just complicated, that's what," Ino says.

I wait for her to say more, but she doesn't. I don't bother to push on and on. If she ever wants to tell me, that's her choice. I won't ask her twenty-one questions.

The rest of the way to the cafeteria, we walk in dead silence.

**So…how was that? I had a lot of time, so I made this one very long. I'm not sure how often I will write chapters this long, but here you go haha. I apologize for any mistakes I missed. Also, was it too long? I felt it jumped around a bit, for some reason, but that's just me. But anyway, thank you for reading. I'm feeling productive (plus I can't sleep :P) so I may, or may not, have another chapter up in a bit. It all depends. Well, that's it for now.**

**Until Later,**

**DaydreamingSoundly ^_^**


	6. Friends?

**Hey. So I decided to update again. Thank you to anyone who read (and even commented). I don't have much to say this time except…I don't own Naruto. It would be awesome if I did though…*dramatic sigh* Anyways, enjoy. I apologize for any mistakes that I miss. **

Hinata's POV

So, I ended up having my first school lunch in a big group of friends.

Tenten, Neji, and Lee were nowhere to be found. They, supposedly, usually sit with the group. The only people I actually knew were Kiba and Shino. Well, I guess Ino counts too. After all, she was the one to introduce herself first. And I guess Naruto and Sasuke, although Sasuke didn't really say much to me.

I also met Choji, Kankuro, Temari, and Shikamaru. The other friends Ino ranted on about to me earlier today. From one conversation with them, I learned that Choji loves- really loves- food, Kankuro loves to make puppets, and Temari, which Ino was right about, is one not to mess with, though, she really is a nice person. She tends to get into fights, but only because she is defending someone. Shikamaru really is as lazy as Ino said as well. He actually managed to fall asleep at the table, which, for some reason, provoked Temari. Maybe they really do like each other as Ino told me.

I also discovered that Sakura sits with the group as well. She sat in between Sasuke and Ino.. I ended up sitting across from her, while being in between Kiba and Naruto. From the corner of my eye, while talking to Kiba, I saw her glance at me a few times throughout lunch. I, on the other hand, avoided making eye contact with her the whole time.

Kiba had fun teasing me, since I was sitting right next to Naruto, which made the whole situation even worse. What if Naruto heard? He was sitting next to me after all.

Kiba would poke me the whole time and wink at me and whisper things like "He's right there" or "Talk to him" and even "Isn't he soo cute," while trying to imitate a girl's voice. At that last comment, I ended up glaring at him and saying back, "If you think he's so cute, you date him, jerk."

Kiba ended up glaring right back at me, but it was one of his goofy, joking around glares.

Anyway, Kiba said back, "Honey, I wouldn't do that to you, he's yours after all."

I blushed while he smirked at me.

"Shut up."

"Make me," he said back.

I frowned and this time he smiled.

I decided to get even and whispered, "So tell me about Ino," with a smirk on **my** face.

He blushed a little, scratched his head, and didn't say a thing.

I decided to interrogate him later.

And now I'm sitting in the middle of my eight hour class, gym, with Anko-sensei, who is a little…how do I put this?...Insane...A better way to put this is she has a very interesting character. She kind of scares me too.

Right when I walk into class, she immediately notices me. She walks up to me. "Fresh face?"

I nod as a response.

She turns to the class, which is full of only girls, "Alright maggots, this is..."

"Hinata Hyuga," I squeak.

"Yes. Hinata Hyuga. Obviously, she's new here, so welcome her." She turns to me and says, "Welcome to Konoha High, now find a seat…now."

I quickly find an empty seat right next to…well, some girl. I can't tell who it is because she is hunched over beside her desk- on the side farthest from me-, rummaging through her backpack. When she sits up, I see bubble gum pink hair. I frown in my mind and turn to face the board.

"Class, today's a free day. Come tomorrow ready to get moving. Don't forget your gym uniform," Anko-sensei tells us.

As I play with my pencil in my hand- hey, you never know when you're going to have to take notes in gym class- I accidently drop it on the floor. Before I can react, Sakura picks it up for me and holds it out to me.

I stare at her hand. Her nails are painted as pink as her hair.

"Isn't this yours?" She asks.

I nod and reluctantly accept it. "Thanks…"

She looks at me and I stare right back.

She looks as if she wants to say something, but, instead, turns to face the front of the room. She opens the book on her desk and reads.

I stare off into space the entire hour.

Last hour, I have Advanced Art, with Kurenai-sensei, who is also my homeroom teacher. When I walk in, she smiles at me and says, "Nice seeing you again."

I smile back. I can already tell she is going to be one of my favorite teachers.

"Take a seat anywhere," she says and goes to the board and starts writing.

I see that instead of desks, there are tables that each have four seats. I decide to randomly sit at a vacant table. Kurenai-sensei, just like my previous teachers, gives us some time to settle.

I take out my notebook and doodle during that time.

A few minutes later, I am so fully absorbed in my drawing that I zone out all of my surroundings.

"Excuse me? Is anyone sitting here?" I hear a voice right next to me ask. I snap out of my thoughts and my heart skips a beat. "Huh?" is my intelligent response. I look up at who asked me that question. It's a blond-haired blue-eyed guy. And no, it's not Naruto. It's a different guy, who, I admit, is kind of attractive. His hair is in a ponytail and he is wearing a black tshirt with a picture of red clouds on it, dark blue jeans, and black Vans.

"Is anyone sitting here?" He repeats his question.

I shake my head.

"Do you care if I sit here?" He asks, while gesturing to the seat next to me.

Again, I shake my head.

He sets his backpack down and sits right next to me. "I'm Deidara, by the way."

"Hinata," I reply.

"Nice to meet you," He says with a smile on his face.

I smile back, "Same here."

A few minutes later, two more people join us, a girl with blue hair and a piercing underneath her bottom lip, and a red head, who, for some reason, reminds me of a doll, just because of his eyes. He too, like Deidara, isn't bad looking. The girl has on a blue tshirt with an image of a single pair of angel wings on them, a pair of dark blue, denim short-shorts with leggings underneath, and black flip-flops. At first, she gave me a sort of cold vibe, just as Sasuke and Gaara did, but she really isn't as cold as I thought. I learn her name is Konan.

The boy is wearing a red shirt with an image of a black scorpion on it, black shorts that go past his knees, and red Converse. I learn his name is Sasori.

Konan sits across from me, while Sasori sits across from Deidara.

Kurenai-sensei, when she starts class, tells us to work on anything art-related. She allows us to use anything in the class, "So you can get a feel of what you prefer to do as an artist," she explains. She allows us to talk, as long as we work.

I stick to my doodling while Konan uses colored paper for origami, Sasori starts to construct some sort of figurine out of wood, and Deidara goes to work on some clay. We make small talk.

I learn that the three of them are best friends and also that there's more of them. I learn that Konan has a boyfriend named Nagato. I also learn that their friends with Karin and her posse.

I put two and two together- they're part of the popular people, also known as, the Akatski, as Ino told me earlier.

"_**But they seem way too nice to be able to remain friends with Karin," I think to myself.**_

I also notice something interesting.

At the mention of Karin's name, I notice how Deidara's composure changes. He frowns slightly.

Sasori laughs at Deidara's reaction, while Konan remains emotionless.

"I'm guessing you have issues with her, Deidara?" I ask.

Deidara replies, "I don't know. Should I trust you?"

"I don't know, should you?" I ask back.

He shrugs and says, "She's a little witch. If you think she's mean to you, see how she treats me. She used to be so nice to me."

"Maybe she still hasn't gotten over that night you told her off at that party at Juugo's party over the summer," Sasori suggest.

"She needs to get over that," Deidara says with a pout.

"What was it that you called her again?" Sasori asks.

"I can't remember," Deidara says slowly, which shows that maybe- just maybe- he's lyring.

"I believe it was a 'self-centered, backstabbing, bitch,' " Konan says.

I laugh, then immediately cover my mouth.

"I'm guessing you have problems with her too then?" Konan asks me.

I blush and stammer, "Uh…m-maybe, k-kind of, I don't know."

"She actually can be nice," Sasori says slowly.

"What kind of jacked up planet do you live on?" Deidara asks.

Konan smiles a little. It's hard to tell, but there definitely is a smile.

"You know what I'm talking about," Sasori says.

"Okay fine, she can be nice," Deidara admits, "But not lately. Is it me or is she more mean?"

"That's how she gets," Konan says with a shrug.

"How do you guys put up with her?" I ask, without thinking.

"You get used to it," Sasori says, "Like I said, though, even she has her nice moments, but they're rare."

I nod, understanding and go back to doodling and just listening.

"It's nice, though, that someone stood up to her," Sasori says.

"That Temari chick does that almost every day. Same with Ino and Sakura," Konan says.

I stay quiet and continue doodling.

"Yeah, Temari mostly, though, I'm not sure if that's considered 'standing up to someone,'" Deidara says, "It seems to me she just picks fights."

Konan shrugs, "Still…"

When class ends, I say "good bye" to the three of them.

"Text us sometime," Deidara says, with a smiles. In the middle of Art, they had all asked me for my number, which surprised me.

"Will do," I say, with a smile on my face.

I make my way to my locker to drop off and pick up a few things. As I am finishing, I feel a tap on my shoulder.

I shut my locker and turn around. I see who is trying to get my attention.

"Hey," Sakura says, with uncertainty in her voice.

"Hey…" I slowly say back.

We stare at each other for what seems like a few minutes- more like a few hours.

Cue the awkward silence.

"Hinata?" Sakura asks.

I don't respond.

"Listen…" Sakura says.

Again, I don't say a word.

"I…" Sakura starts to say.

"Do you know what you made me go through?" I ask, trying, and failing, at masking my anger.

"Well-" Sakura starts to say, but I cut her off.

"You ditched me. How could- how dare- you lead me on, making me think I could actually have a friend that actually goes to the same school as me and that I would no longer be alone and could have someone to relate to?" I ask, not really wanting an answer.

"Hinata, I-" I interrupt her again.

"Did you really care more about being popular than your true friend? Karin may have come and gone during your petty, ridiculous fights, but news flash, I was _**always**_ there and you blew it. Who was it that let you cry to them whenever _**she **_caused problems for you and hurt you. Who was always there on the days when _**she **_ditched you? Honey, _**I**_ was. And yet….yet you chose her over me in the end. It's because of that, over the years, I always thought there was something wrong with me. I always thought that maybe it was me…maybe I was the reason why you left me. But, when I think now, it wasn't me, it was you."

"Please, let me," I don't let Sakura finish.

"Let you what? Why don't you cry about it to Karin?" I ask her, "After all, she _**is**_ your true friend, not me," I add, sarcastically. I then briskly walk off.

I'm about to walk out the door to the parking lot when I feel someone grab my arm. I turn around and see it's Sakura.

"_**What now?"**_ I think to myself.

"Let me go of me…**now**," I demand.

"Just hear me out, please," Sakura pleads, "Give me thirty seconds of your time."

I mentally roll my eyes then say, "Fine, you have thirty seconds, go."

She takes a deep breath and lets go of my arm.

I cross my arms.

"I know we ended on a bad note-"

I scoff at her.

She ignores me and continues, "I really tried to make up. When I found out on the first day of sixth grade that you moved, I was devastated. I remember how I tried multiple times to text you, but you never replied-"

"Don't try to turn this and make me the bad person here!" I snap.

"I'm not, I swear. I just…I realized I really screwed up. I realized that if I hadn't…left you, I would have known when you were moving. We could have stayed in touch and hung out over the weekends. We could have stayed friends, best friends. I screwed up on what could have been a strong friendship with an awesome person. And you're right, it was me, not you. _**I **_screwed up. How many times can I say that? I really screwed up. I really, really did. All I can say is…I'm sorry. I'm truly, sincerely sorry. I hope maybe we can…have a fresh start? I promise that you won't have to worry about Karin. I really am sorry," Sakura says, with a nervous smile.

I'm shocked. All this time…all this time I thought she wanted nothing to do with me.

I stay quiet.

She stays quiet as well and looks tense.

I feel myself fidget because of the awkwardness.

"_**Fine, she apologized and meant it. Just watch your back still, girl. You can't trust anyone."**_ the voice, once again, is here. This time, I'm actually going to listen to it. I will forgive and I will be her friend again.

"Do you forgive me?" Sakura asks, with a hint of hope in her voice.

I smile and nod.

She smiles back, looking relieved and loosens up. "Friends again?" She asks.

"Who says we ever stopped?" I ask with a smiles.

She smiles again and we, awkwardly, hug.

"You got taller," She says, when she lets go of me.

"I'm still short though," I complain.

She laughs.

I laugh.

"So, this Friday, Ino and I want to get a bunch of people to hang out…want to join?" She asks with a smile.

"Sure," I say, "Sounds fun."

"Naruto will be there too…" She says slowly.

Is she smirking at me?

I blush, "I…"

"Sasuke told me that when he and Naruto visited Kurenai-sensei's class during homeroom, you were blushing at Naruto," Sakura explains.

"Is it that obvious?" I ask, in distress.

"No, Sasuke said it was only a light blush, but he's good at noticing things like that," Sakura says.

I still am not convinced. What if Naruto knows?

"Besides, Naruto is too dense to notice," Sakura says, as if she's reading my mind.

I try to stop blushing, but my mind keeps going back to those deep, blue eyes, that charming, inviting smile…oh goodness…

My face becomes hot.

"Looks like we have another couple to play cupid with," Sakura says, with a smirk on her face, "Ino will be delighted."

I pout and cover my cheeks.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Sakura asks.

"Yes," I reply.

"You still have the same cell phone number right?" Sakura asks.

I nod, "You?" I ask back.

She nods.

"Then I guess I'll see you later," I say.

She smiles and waves.

We go our separate ways.

When I get home, I find that the whole house is empty. Hanabi's at Moegi's, the elders are at Suna for the week, and my parents…well…I don't know where they are. Probably work.

I lay down on my bed and listen to my iPod for half an hour, when I get a call from Kiba.

I pause the song I'm listening to and answer my cell phone. "Hello?"

"What's up? It's me." Kiba says.

I shrug, then remember that he can't see me shrug, so I say, "Not much…you?"

Silence.

"How's everyone?" Kiba asks.

"Who?" I ask.

"You're family?..." Kiba responds.

"Oh…well, Hanabi's at Moegi's and the elders are in Suna for the week. My parents are at work."

"So you're home alone? Wow," Kiba says.

"Whatever," I say while shrugging.

"Want to come over?" Kiba asks.

"Right now?" I ask.

"Yeah. Why not?" Kiba laughs.

"Alright," I say, "Be there in 2 minutes."

I put on a lavender-colored jacket, slip on my same pair of Converse shoes I wore this morning, walk out the door, and walk to Kiba's house.

I get there in about thirty seconds. When I knock on the door, he answers it.

"Hey," he says, while smiling.

"Hey yourself," I say back.

He lets me in, we make cocoa together, and sit on his couch while making small talk.

"How was your first day of Konoha High?" Kiba asks.

"Alright, I suppose," I say while shrugging.

"That's a better response than horrible, I guess," Kiba says.

"Yeah…Sakura and I made up," I randomly say.

"Really? That's good," he says, while smiling.

"Why didn't you tell me you go to the same school as her?" I question.

He shrugs and says, "You said you wanted to forget about her. Plus, I don't really talk to her as much as I talk to the others. This is my first year having any classes with her, which, by the way, is only one."

I sigh and say, "I just was so…surprised…"

"Well, she doesn't hang out with Karin anymore. In fact, they're enemies, but then again, Karin manages to make a lot of enemies, so nothing new," Kiba says while laughing.

I laugh a little then ask, "Why did she stop hanging out with her?"

"Well, Sakura realized how Karin truly is. Karin kind of showed her true colors to Sakura years ago. I think in the beginning of sixth grade. It's funny though, in elementary school, when you and Sakura met, outside of school, Sakura and Ino were best friends. So, same situation as you. No friends that go to your same school."

"She never told me about Ino," I say.

"Well, the same thing happened to Sakura and Ino that happened with Sakura and you. If you thought it was hard holding onto Sakura when she had a new friend while going to the same school as her, imagine how it was when at a different school. At least you saw her during the week in class. Ino got to see her only on weekends. The time you and Sakura got close was around the time Karin came into the picture, correct?" Kiba asks.

I nod, waiting for him to continue.

"Well, that's just it. You introduced Shino and I to her when you and her got close, correct again?" Kiba asks.

I nod again.

"Well, when you two became close, that's when the Karin drama started. She kind of had a fight with Ino…" Kiba starts to say.

"Is this private information?" I ask.

"Well, the fight they had wasn't private at all. It was during some slumber party Ino had. I stopped by for a few minutes because my mom needed to talk to hers about something. But, anyway, they had a fight in front of everyone. It ended with Sakura going home, covered in ramen, and in tears." Kiba explains.

"What was the fight about?" I ask.

"Friendship. The whole 'you never spends time with me any more thanks to your new friends' kind of thing," Kiba says.

"Oh," I say.

He nods and sets his cup on the coffee table in front of us.

I think it's funny that Ino sometimes hangs out with Karin. But what confuses me is this morning when Ino was too loud and Karin snapped at her. So I ask Kiba, hoping he'll have an answer.

"Oh, that? Well Ino and Karin are weird. One minute Ino is telling me how much she wants to strangle Karin and the next Ino's telling me how she and Karin went shopping together or how they went to some party together," Kiba says.

"That's weird…" I say.

"That's what you call a love-hate relationship. One minute they're..."bffs," the next they're at each other's throats. Sometimes, though, at school, it's all an act they put. It's to make other people think they hate each other. And by "people," I mean our friends. They, especially Temari and Sakura, hate Karin and her friends, even though they haven't met all of them face-to-face. But yeah…Any more questions?" Kiba asks.

I shake my head and take a sip from my cup and yawn.

He yawns too.

I laugh and he smiles.

"What? It's contagious," he says and laughs with me.

"I should get going so you can sleep," I say.

"I'll walk you home," Kiba says, while getting up.

"I live thirty seconds away," I say, refusing his offer.

"I'm already up. Also, isn't you that always tells me how stubborn I can be?" Kiba asks.

"Me, your mom, your sister, Tenten, Shino, and Neji," I say while putting on my jacket and shoes.

He pouts.

I smile at him.

"Let's just go before you can insult me some more, Hina-chan," Kiba says.

I laugh and we walk to my house.

When we get there, we hug and say our 'goodnights.'" I go upstairs, not bothering to check if anyone is home, go to my room, shut the door, change into my pajamas, and sleep.

**So how was that? Sorry it kind of jumped around, but I needed to get all I had out so I can move on to the next chapter. Let me know what you think. I apologize, again, for any mistakes I missed. It's late right now, so I may have missed a few. But anyway, thank you for taking the time to read. **

**Until Later,**

**DaydreamingSoundly ^_^**


	7. Me? Have Plans on a Weekend For Once?

**Hey. So I decided to update again, on the same day :D. I was feeling productive again. So here it is. Enjoy! I apologize for any mistakes (I know I say this a lot)**

**And…I don't own Naruto…darn…**

Hinata's POV

School went by so slowly this week. But now it's Friday and I'm in my room, waiting for Tenten and Neji to arrive. The whole gang is going out for dinner, then to the movies. Afterwards, I'm going to Ino's house. Us girls are going to have a little sleep over there, while the guys are going to be at Sasuke's, doing who knows what.

Anyway, right when I got home, I took a shower, brushed out my hair, and put it in its normal high ponytail. I decide to wear a plain, white t-shirt and dark blue skinny jeans.

I hear a car outside and look out the window. I see Tenten and Neji inside Neji's car. I quickly put on my lavender jacket and black converse. I dash to the door and open it. I see Neji and Tenten, standing together and holding hands. Whatever they had been going through, they got over it.

Anyway, the position Tenten is in makes me guess she was about to ring the doorbell right as I opened the door.

"Are you really that excited?" Tenten asks.

I laugh and say, "Let's go!"

Neji takes his spot at the driver's seat, while Tenten sits in the front passenger seat beside him. I open the back door and am shocked to see Naruto sitting there, texting. He looks up and smiles. He puts his phone away and asks me, "So, are you just going to stand there?"

I shake my head slowly.

He pats the seat right next to him and says, "Come one, I don't bite…much," He winks at me.

I hear Tenten laugh and see Neji frown in the mirror, but he, surprisingly, holds his tongue. He can be so protective of me sometimes. Same with Kiba and Tenten. Shino is more laid back.

I blush, but get in, close the door, and sit in the seat closest to him. I buckle my seatbelt and Neji drives out of my neighborhood. Kiba isn't riding with us because he's meeting us at the restaurant after he finishes helping his sister with something.

"How was your first week of Konoha High?" Naruto asks.

"Good, I guess," I respond.

"You guess?" Naruto asks.

"Yes, I guess," I say.

Naruto gives me an unsure smile and says, "Ok."

I shrug.

"You alright?" He asks.

"Yeah, why?" I ask.

"You seem…kind of down," He says slowly.

I frown.

"I'm so sorry. Did I offend you? Sorry! Forget I asked," Naruto says with worry in his voice.

I shake my head and say, "It's fine, I see what you mean."

Awkward silence.

"It looks nice out tonight," Naruto says while looking out the car window.

"Yeah, it is," I agree.

A few more minutes later, we arrive at the restaurant. When we walk in, we see that Sakura, Sasuke, Temari, Shikamaru, Gaara, Kankuro, Matsuri, and Choji. Ino and Lee have yet to arrive. Sakura had told me that Sai was going to show up as well. Shino, on the other hand, can't come tonight.

We sit down by them and have one big conversation.

About four minutes later, Ino walks in with Sai and Lee. They sit with us and join in on our conversation.

"Sorry we're late," Ino says.

"Ino's car broke down," Sai says, "Too stupid to get gas along the way."

"Don't give me that!" Ino shouts.

"Use your inside voice, child," Sai taunts, with a smirk.

"I'm going to take my foot and shove it-" Ino is cut off by Lee.

"Such unyouthful words in an unyouthful argument by such a youthful couple! Love and youth will conquer all!" Lee shouts.

"All of you…shut up," Shikamaru says, while rubbing his temples.

"_**You **_shut up, Shikamaru," Ino retorts and then realization hits her. She turns to Lee and asks, "Couple!"

"A _**youthful **_couple," Lee says with a big smile. He holds up a thumbs-up.

"Sai and Ino, sitting in a tree," Kankuro starts.

"K-i-s-s-i-n-g," Sakura adds, while making a "heart" with her fingers.

"First comes love," Naruto adds, while smirking.

"Then comes marriage," Choji adds, while laughing.

"Then comes Ino with a-" Kiba starts to say, but Ino lunges at him.

"You better not finish that line!" She shouts, while shaking him by the collar of his shirt.

It takes Temari, Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and I to pry Ino off of Kiba. The reason why it took five of us is because when one person managed to get her off, she would attack him again and again and again…

After this little incident, the atmosphere becomes tense.

"So, uh…let's order?" Matsuri suggests.

All throughout dinner, people are cracking jokes here and there. All is forgotten about Ino trying to strangle Kiba.

About half way into dinner, Sasuke randomly mutters, "With a baby carriage…" then continues to eat his food.

"What?" Naruto asks, clearly as confused as all of us.

"Think about it for a second," Sasuke says.

This is the most I've heard him talk in front of everyone.

Anyway, everyone stops eating. Then, one by one, an array of light bulbs go off in people's heads.

Ino turns red while the rest of us, excluding Sai, laugh.

"Oh," Sakura says, "I get it."

"The song wasn't completed, which bothered me," Sasuke says, smirking slightly.

We all laugh again at Ino's expense. After all, she is overreacting. If she really has no feelings for Sai, why would she act so dramatically?

This then confuses me. I thought she liked Kiba? The whole "crush" thing always has confused me.

Anyway, it's the last straw for Ino. She puts down her chopsticks and picks up a handful of rice from her plate. She balls it up and chucks it at Sasuke.

"Hey!" Sasuke exclaims, which surprises everyone. He's not one to yell.

"Don't pelt him with food, Ino-pig!" Sakura yells. She then picks up a few noodles from her bowl of ramen and throws it at Ino.

"My hair!" Ino shouts. She glares at Sakura. She throws rice at Sakura, just as she did to Sasuke.

The difference is, though, Sakura ends up ducking. Unfortunately for Ino, Sakura's sitting next to Temari. The ball of rice ends up whacking Temari in the back of the head, as she is in conversation with Shikamaru.

"What the hell?" Temari turns around. "Who the hell threw that?" She asks, dangerously.

"I-it was Ino!" Sakura squeaks.

Temari throws a handful of carrots at Ino.

"Hey!" Ino exclaims.

Lee then, for some reason, dumps his bowl of ramen on Neji.

"Why?" Neji asks, while wiping off the ramen off his hair.

"I was feeling the power of youth!" Lee exclaims.

"I'll show you youth!" Neji shouts. He gathers the ramen off his body and chucks it back at Lee.

"Nice shot my youthful friend!" Lee shouts.

"Food fight?" Naruto asks. He doesn't wait for a reply, though. He starts pelting Kiba with shrimp.

"Oh, it's on now!" Kiba challenges. He throws sushi at Naruto.

"Guys!" Matsuri shouts.

The food stops flying and all eyes are on her.

"I was going to say…don't leave me out of this," Matsuri says, while giggling. She throws rice at Gaara.

We all laugh.

After that, a full-on food fight starts at our table. I just watch though.

"Hinata, don't think you're not going to leave here with clean clothes," Naruto says, with a smirk on his face.

"Don't you dare…" I threaten.

He, of course, not listening, takes a piece of cake and smears it all over my face.

"Naruto!" I shriek. I drench him with my soda, signaling the whole group that I'm now part of this battle- no- war!

This went on for about 3 more minutes, until the manager came up to our table. Apparently, other customers had filed in a noise complaint about us. He was coming to tell us to quiet down when he saw what was making us so noisy.

Let's just say, we're not allowed in that restaurant anytime soon.

"We're such delinquents," Ino says, while laughing.

"Yes, because getting kicked out of a Yoshoku-ya restaurant is _**so **_badass," Naruto says sarcastically.

I giggle.

"Whatever," Ino says while pouting, as she picks out rice from her hair.

Since we were so messy from the food fight, we decided not to go to the movies like we planned.

Instead, we hang out in the bed of Shikamaru's truck and talk for quite a bit.

After that, the girls go to Ino's for a sleepover, while the guys go to Sasuke's.

"Have fun," Naruto says, "and sorry about your hair and clothes and….the rest of you."

"It's alright," I say, while lauging.

He smiles at me and I smile back, trying to not blush.

"Guess I'll see you at school?" Naruto asks.

I nod, "Yeah." I wave and get into Ino's car.

I am sitting on my couch the next morning. Sakura just dropped me off at my house.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened at the sleepover last night. Pretty much, all we did was sit around, eat junk, watch television, talk about what's going on in each of our lives, and go to sleep. Oh _**so**__**exciting.**_

I yawn and think about all I have to do today, which is absolutely nothing. I laze around until I get a text from Deidara. This is the first time I've ever gotten a text from him.

I read the message.

**1 New Message from Deidara:**

Hey Hinata! What's up?

I reply: **Not much. You?**

**1 New Message from Deidara**

Not much. Just being lazy :P

I reply: **nice. Same here.**

**1 New Message from Deidara:**

Soo…are you free next weekend?

I reply: I'm not sure, why do you ask?

**1 New Message from Deidara:**

Well…there's a party next Saturday at Suigetsu's house. Wanna go with Konan, Nagato, Sasori, and me?

I pause for a second and register what he just asked. Suigetsu, as in one of Karin's close friends? A whole group that hates me and my friends. I'm the dork…Why would Deidara invite me?

I reply: **Why are you guys inviting me, of all people? And besides, Karin and her posse all hate me.**

**1 New Message from Deidara:**

Don't forget that Konan, Nagato, Sasori and I are part of this "posse." _We _don't hate you. And I'm sure Sai won't have a problem with you either. And Suigetsu's not as much of a jerk as Karin is. In fact, he won't mind.

I think again for a second. Well, maybe it _**is**_ possible for "popular" people to like me and want to hang out with me. But, for some reason, I keep getting this bad feeling in my stomach. Or maybe that's just from all the sushi I ate yesterday…

Anyway, I've seen the movies and read the books. Usually if it's a popular person hosting a party, it's a **huge one. **Usually, the person's parents are out of town or something like that. Another thing I see is there's alcohol and people making fools of themselves. Also, in the end, something dramatic always happens, whether it be a fight between loved ones, cops busting the party, or someone doing something completely reckless that has consequences.

But maybe…just maybe, this won't be like any of those parties? It's just movies and books.

But do I really want to risk that?

I reply: **If you say so…**

**1 New Message from Deidara:**

is that a yes?

I don't know…is it? I think some more. Things could actually turn out really good or devastating. It has been a while since I've been to a party. But, then again, I've never been to a huge, "high school," party before.

Maybe there will be people I know? I can also make new friends…After all, that's what Kiba, Shino, Tenten, and Neji hoped for.

"_**New friends? What do you call the people you just hung out with last night?"**_ The voice says.

_I can make other new friends too, you know. I'm allowed. They won't care. _I say back, actually aloud.

I continue to argue with myself for a few more minutes.

Then I reply: **Yes. I'll be there.**

**1 New Message from Deidara:**

Really? This is going to be so much fun :)

I sigh to myself. I feel my stomach churn.

Maybe things won't turn out as bad as movies portray them…hopefully.

I reply: **Yeah, I can't wait.**

Though, I still feel sick inside.

This week of school goes by a little slowly. It's not as bad though. I actually am confident enough to say I have friends…actual friends. I have to say, I have even gotten quite close to them in such a short amount of time. I just hope nothing messes this up.

I'm sitting during Health Class. Tomorrow is the day of Suigetsu's party. I keep hoping that maybe there's a slim chance that some, or at least one, of my friends is invited. Usually parties like these have tons of people. Maybe there's a chance Ino or maybe Sai. Or Sasuke-I would even settle for Sasuke too. He's started talking to me more too. He actually is a cool person.

Anyway, I'm just scared that the other party goers will shun me. And I don't want to just depend on Deidara, or Sasori, or Konan, or Nagato. I need someone who I can relate to.

I sigh.

"You okay?" Ino asks me.

I look at her. "Huh?"

"You sighed, silly. What's wrong?" She asks.

"I'm just bored," I say, fake laughing.

Ino laughs with me. "Second week and you're bored already?"

I just smile and shrug.

"Ladies," Shizune says, referring to us, "You can talk as soon as we finish this lesson." She then turns back to the board and finishes writing.

I blush while Ino just shrugs and stifles a giggle. Obviously, this isn't the first time she's gotten scolded at by a teacher.

The whole day goes by too fast. It's already lunch time, before I know it.

Today, I'm sitting in between Tenten and Kiba. Kiba seems a little distant while Tenten just nudges her food the whole time, without saying a word. Naruto, who is sitting on the other side of Kiba, glances at him a couple of times. Each time, he looks as if he wants to say something, then shakes his head and changes his mind. Temari does the same with Tenten. Neji, Lee, and Gaara are nowhere to be found. Same with Sasuke, who, for some reason, opted for sitting with Karin and her gang today…or at least that's what Sakura told me a few minutes earlier.

"He's probably talking to Sai," Sakura says, "Remember, we hang out with Sai outside of school. And I guess Sasuke is considered "popular," but no biggie. He can hang out with whoever he wants, even if it's Karin, who can't keep her filthy hands to herself. I don't care."

For some reason, I'm not convinced.

She shrugs and goes back to eating.

No one says a word, which is very bizarre. Everyone is in sort of…a funk today…

"So, what time is this date?" Temari asks Ino, breaking the silence.

I see Kiba make a face.

She is referring to the date that Ino and Sai have tonight. He asked her out on Monday this week during one of the transition periods between classes. Ino was beaming the whole day.

Anyway, Ino blushes and answers, "Tonight at 6." She smiles.

Then it hits me. Maybe that's why Kiba's been acting so weird?

"Just be good…okay?" Temari says, with a suggestive tone.

Ino blushes and says, "Shut up…"

"Yeah. What does she look like? Karin?" Sakura asks.

The whole table is silent for a second, then we all start laughing.

After school, Ino calls us girls over to critique on her outfit choice. Her hair is down and she's wearing a black, denim miniskirt, black tights, a baby-blue v-neck shirt, Sakura's pink belt, which she borrowed this morning, and also pink ballet flats.

"Interesting combination," Sakura says, while smiling.

"I didn't want to be all fancy. We're going to dinner and a movie," Ino explains. Her eyes are practically sparkling with excitement.

We all wish her good luck and go our separate ways, with the exception of Tenten and I. She and I go in her car to get smoothies.

As we are sitting in our booth, we make small talk.

"She seems happy," Tenten says.

I nod. Though, I was kind of hoping she and Kiba would end up together. Oh well, whatever makes her happy, I guess. I just feel bad for Kiba, though. I thought they were really hitting it off lately.

"So…how do you feel about Naruto," Tenten asks, winking at me.

I honestly don't know how to answer that. He's different…that's all I can say. He's like Kiba, but my friendship with him is different than the one I have with Kiba. He and I have gotten closer and he even texts me every day. But, we're not at the stage where I think I could tell him all my secrets, feeling, blah blah blah. Basically, all the stuff I've told only Kiba. Not even Tenten and Neji know everything about me.

Still, Naruto is an awesome person and great friend. He always sticks up for the people he loves…always…this, of course, is one of the contributing factors to the fights he tends to get in. He's often sent to the office too. He really cares that much.

Also, I'm still attracted to him- I admit that. His blue eyes remind me of the ocean and his hair remind me of the sun. They both fit his bright personality. Even on days I'm feeling down, he manages to cheer me up. Maybe…I think just maybe…I'm developing a little…crush on him.

I said maybe though.

But should I tell Tenten?

"Hinata?" Tenten asks, while snapping in my face.

I almost jump out of my seat. I look at her. "Yes?"

"You never answered me," she says, while laughing.

"Well…"I start to say, but, for some reason, start to blush. I can't continue.

"Oh my god!" Tenten exclaims.

"Wha-what?" I stutter.

"You so like him! I knew it! We knew it!" Tenten exclaims.

"What do you mean by we?" I ask, with panic in my voice.

"We as in all our friends, well, except for Naruto. He's so clueless when it comes to these kinds of things," Tenten says, then takes a sip of her smoothie.

Is it really that obvious?

Almost as if she reads my mind, Tenten then says, "We all can see it, Hina-chan. The way you blush around him. Come to think of it, I think he likes you too."

"R-r-eally?" I ask, surprised, trying to mask my hope.

"Yeah. Don't you see how he flirts with you? How he's always trying to make you laugh, especially on the days you're depressed?" Tenten asks, using a sort of "duh" tone in her voice.

I blush a little harder and say, "He doesn't flirt with me."

"Uh…yeah. Hate to break it to you, but he does. It's just too subtle to notice at first. Hell, I bet he doesn't even realize he's doing it. This just makes the whole situation even better," Tenten says.

"But he and I are so different-" I start to say, but she cuts me off.

"Not completely. Besides, if you want to go down that route…opposites attract. Take Neji and I as an example," Tenten says.

I think for a moment. Naruto and I are different, but not completely. Even if we have nothing in common, Tenten does have a point, I suppose.

"Face it," Tenten says, "You two are a match-made in heaven."

I blush and sip my smoothie.

On Saturday morning, I take my time getting up. The party is today.

This could either turn out to be fun or just to be really bad.

I then realize that I have nothing to wear to the party. Usually, I would ask Ino or Sakura for advice. They would, most likely, help me whip up a decent outfit in five minutes tops. But, Ino sleeps in until two on the weekends, then has to work. As for Sakura, I don't think she would appreciate the fact that I will be breathing the same air as Karin in the same place at the same time. Temari would smack me until I "came to my senses," and Tenten would convince me not to go. How about Matsuri though?

Oh right, she's busy too. She's in Suna for the weekend.

So, I'm stumped.

Wait! Kiba could help me. He's not that bad when it comes to fashion, though he refuses to admit it.

I turn on my cell phone to call him to see if he can help me. Maybe, just maybe, I could invite him to come along to the party. I'd have to check with Deidara first though, to see if it's okay.

My phone "dings" and reads:

**7 New Messages**

I read them all:

**New Message from Deidara:**

Forgot to tell you Nata-chan. Guests are allowed to bring other guests. You can invite anyone you like to tag along…that is…if you have any friends that **don't **hate us.

Hmm…maybe this detail will be useful. I read the rest of my texts.

**New Message from Ino:**

Hey! Anyone awake?

**New Message from Ino:**

Where my girls be at?

**New Message from Ino:**

Okay. Whatever. I can't wait. You'll all get this when you get this. But, wait for it…my date was AMAZING. Also…We K-I-S-S-E-D! 3 :D We're officially a couple. I'm so happy I can scream it from the roof tops.

I squeal when I read that text, which surprises me. I'm not a squealer. I'm happy for her though. I'll reply when I finish reading all my texts.

**New Message from Konan:**

Hey. Do you need a ride tonight? Let me know. Also, let me know if you plan on bringing anyone.

My first text from Konan ever.

**New Message from Naruto:**

Oh my God. Sasuke and I went ding-dong ditching last night. We almost got caught. I think my neighbors know who it was, though. I'm so dead when my parents get home xD

I laugh. Now he's even got Sasuke involved in his shenanigans.

**New Message from Sakura:**

Dude…I think I like Sasuke…-_-'

I shake my head. Even _**I **_predicted she and him would end up together. They're always hanging out. They're also so concerned about one another.

I decide to only text Kiba. I will reply the others later.

I text: **Hey. You got any plans?**

**New Message from Kiba:**

Not really…why?

I reply: **Are you in the mood to party?**

**New Message from Kiba:**

I do enjoy partying. You have my full attention. Go on…

I reply: **Well, I got invited to this big house party thing…**

**New Message from Kiba:**

Suigetsu's party? No way.

I reply: Yes way. Wanna go with me?

**New Message from Kiba:**

You know how I feel about most of those stuck-up twits, my dear…

I reply: **You and I could hang out the whole time together…come one…please?**

**New Message from Kiba:**

Fine…only cause it's you though.

I reply: **that was easy :P**

**New Message from Kiba:**

Are you calling me easy? I don't roll like that.

I reply: **Whatever -_-' Say, I need help with an outfit. Any suggestions?**

**New Message from Kiba:**

Sure. Ask my sister. That's what I suggest. Come over.

I reply: **Now?**

**New Message from Kiba:**

Yes. Now. What time's the party?

I check the time. Sasori told me it starts around 5, to give people time to arrive. Apparently, things get good when it starts to get dark.

Anyway, right now, it's 3:30. Crap. I don't even know how to get to the place.

I reply: **5**

**New Message from Kiba:**

wow. Better hurry up. Get your butt over here now.

I reply: **I'll be there in 2 minutes.**

**Sorry it took a while to update. So…was it too long? Should I make longer chapters like this more often? Thanks for taking the time to read it! Well, that's all. I don't have much to say, to be honest.**

**Until Later,**

**DaydreamingSoundly ^_^**


	8. Well, That Was Unexpected

**Hey. So I decided to update again. Let me know what you think. This chapter might get a little intense or depressing, well I'll try. I apologize for any mistakes I miss. Enjoy. Sorry it took so long to update. Dx I am bad, I know. Just so many things going on. I turned 16 last week :D, school, and just busy busy busy busy xD**

**I do not own Naruto…sigh**

Hinata's POV

I'm sitting on a stool in the middle of Hana's room. Hana is the name of Kiba's older sister, by the way.

She's studying me, trying to figure out if there's anything else to add to my look. My hair is down and a little bit straightened, courtesy of her. She told me to try something new.

"Your hair is so pretty. I'm jealous. Leave it down, just for tonight," Hana says as she finishes adding the last touches to my hair. Nothing too fancy though. She fixes my bangs and studies me again.

"Close your eyes," she says.

I do and she then proceeds to go to work on my face. She lightly strokes on, I'm guessing, eye shadow on my eye lids.

"This lavender eye shadow will really help bring out your eyes," she says.

She lines my eyes with black eyeliner and dusts some white, shimmery eye shadow on the inner corner of both my eyes. I try to resist the urge to blink as she applies a few strokes of black mascara on my eyelashes.

"It's nice that I don't have to curl your eyelashes first, luck you," Hana says. She caps the container of mascara and studies me…again…

"Perfect," Hana says, "Not that you aren't already pretty without make up. I needed someone to test this look on, but you look awesome, if I do say so myself, "Hana says, while laughing.

I smile.

"You put the outfit I gave you on, right?" Hana asks.

I nod.

"Then stand up so I can see the final result," She says, looking excited.

I stand up and take off the smock she made me put on before my little makeover.

She looks stunned.

I blush. I'm wearing a dark, red spaghetti-strapped dress that stops right above my knees. I have on a cute black blazer that Hana let me borrow. I also have black tights underneath and a silver chain with a charm shaped like the symbol for my family name…or clan…whatever.

I blush. I don't usually wear dresses, except on special occasions.

"Are you sure it's not too fancy for a plain, old high school party?" I ask.

Hana shakes her head. "You look good, I promise. And damn…since when have you had that figure? Innocent, little Hinata," Hana says.

I blush even more.

I put on one of the very few pairs of heels I own (they're the ones that she wears in Shippuden :P) and look at myself in Hana's full-length mirror, so I can see if I really look as good as she says.

I'm shocked. Is this really me?

I must be showing my surprise because I hear Hana laugh. "Like magic right?"

I nod slowly. "Thank you so much," I say and hug her.

"No problem," She says, while laughing again, "Anytime."

We walk downstairs together. Instead of asking Konan for a ride, I decided it would be better if Hana took Kiba and I. I don't know why, it just will.

When I asked Hana earlier, she happily said yes.

I sit on the edge of the couch, waiting for Kiba to finish getting ready.

He then walks in, wearing a white t-shirt, black jeans, and his black Vans. He has on a black jean jacket, which he left unbuttoned.

I stand up and walk to him. "You look nice," I say.

He doesn't say anything though. He just stares at me.

"Kiba?" I ask.

"What the hell did my sister do to you?" Kiba asks.

"What? It doesn't look good?" I ask, a little disappointed.

"What! No! It's just- nevermind," Kiba says.

I sigh.

"You look gorgeous," Kiba says, "If only Naruto was here…"

I blush.

"Who's Naruto?" Hana asks.

"N-n-no one," I stutter, "Let's go!"

I then run outside, in my heels, to Hana's car and wait.

Hana and Kiba finally make their way outside and to the car.

Hana gets in the driver seat while Kiba and I get in the back.

Hana then drives off.

When we knock on the door of Suigetsu's house, my stomach is doing flips. Maybe it's not too late to turn back?

The door opens. I hear Hana honk twice and drive away.

Oh well…

"Hey guys," Deidara greets us, "Come on in.

We walk in.

"Karin, Kabuto, Sasori, and a few other people you haven't met aren't here yet," Deidara says.

I can barely hear him over the loud music that's playing.

"_**Thank goodness,"**_ I think to myself, but I nod to him. Kabuto, I can tolerate, I guess. He's actually pretty decent when he's not with "the rest." Sasori is cool and Karin, well, you already know how I feel about her.

"Oh. And Deidara, this is Kiba. Kiba, this is Deidara," I say. They shake hands and we follow Deidara to the others.

We walk into the living room. Some people are dancing while other people are standing around the wall and talking. Deidara's friends, for some apparent reason, are sitting in a circle in the middle of the floor around a coffee table. I see Sai and Ino amongst them. Sasuke's even there too.

"Hina-chan! Is that you? Sit next to me!" Ino shouts, even though I'm only a few feet away from her.

I gladly take a seat next her, though. Kiba sits next to me.

Everyone in the circle either says "hi" or just waves.

I nod at them, acknowledging them.

"What are you doing here?" Ino asks.

"_**What's that supposed to mean?" **_I think to myself.

But, I decide not to analyze her question too much. I'm sure she didn't mean it in a bad way.

"I might ask you guys the same thing," I say.

"Well, Karin invited Sai and I. Sai got Sasuke to come," Ino explains, "This party will be our little secret. She giggles.

"What? Why?" I ask. I mean, I know our friends dislike them, but I learned this past week that not _all _of them are that bad. Like Konan, Sasori, and Nagato. Let's not forget Deidara, who invited me to this thing in the first place. Suigetsu's actually pretty cool too. He was okay with me coming to this and I have gotten to know him because I have more classes with him, since he got his schedule changed. I already mentioned Kabuto earlier. I have Health class with him.

"Our other friends will get upset, especially Sakura and Temari. Do you really want them to bitch to you about how bad it was to come here? Those two will kill us- no- they _**all**_ will kill us…

I'm a little surprised at her question. I didn't suspect Sakura to be one to "bitch" to anyone about anything. Maybe Temari, since she has the tendency to say exactly how she feels and thinks, no matter how harsh. But, I don't think Sakura would "bitch" about anything. Then again, it's been a few years since she and I were best friends. I guess people change. Maybe she does have **that **side to her and she's never shown it to me.

"Isn't that a little dramatic, Ino?" I ask.

"Ino, being dramatic? As if!" Sasuke says, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

I giggle.

Ino blushes and says, "Fine. They wouldn't kill us, but they would be very upset.

"Oh…" is my response. I know that some of our friends would be upset, but how upset exactly? Eventually, they would find out about the party from other students. Obviously…

"You look hot, by the way. Love the look." Ino says, giggling. She's wearing a dark purple, tank top, black denim miniskirt, a pair of transparent, floral pantyhose, a black belt, and boots. She, as always, looks good.

I blush and say, "Thanks."

"I love your blazer," she says, while giggling and pointing to the jacket that is in her lap, "I have the same one."

I smile a little and giggle, even though I don't feel like doing so, "Small world."

"So, when does this party pick up? It's good now, but when does all the action and entertainment start?" Sakon asks.

"You mean all the drama?" Suigetsu asks while chuckling.

"When the keg gets here? People will be so drunk, words are going to fly out, that's what I predict will happen." Jugo suggests.

"More like when Karin gets here," a girl named Kin mumbles. I know her mostly because she's in my Health, History, and Math class. She would be in my Art class too if she didn't take Music. She, too, isn't so bad, even when she's with her friends. There probably something fishy about her then. That's what I suspect.

We all laugh.

I then remember what Jugo asked a second ago.

Keg?

"Did you say something about a keg?" I foolishly ask Jugo.

Jugo nods and says, "I know people."

"A keg of what?" I ask slowly.

"_**Dumb ass,"**_ the voice says, referring to me.

"Apple juice," Jugo answers, in a sarcastic tone that, for some reason, pisses me off. I'm not usually one to get pissed off.

The rest of the group, except for Kiba, Ino, Sai, and Sasuke laugh at my expense.

I blush.

"Don't be a jerk, Jugo," Deidara says, while trying to stop laughing.

"Oh yeah. Don't get out much, do you? I forgot you're the social outcast," Jugo says.

Tayuya snickers.

I don't answer. What's his problem?

"You have to let loose once in a while, child," A guy with grayish, whitish hair that is slicked back.

I wish they would stop talking. I do get out, but I don't need alcohol to have fun.

"There must be so much you haven't done yet, then. Am I right?" Sakon asks.

I pretend to fix my shoe.

"Have you ever been out _**after**_ seven at night?" Jugo asks.

"Yes," I answer defensively.

"Your front yard doesn't count," I hear Sakon mumble.

A few people in the group snicker.

I feel myself blush. I can already tell that this was probably a bad idea.

"Have you ever had a boyfriend?" Tayuya asks.

All eyes are on me.

"This is ridiculous," Kiba says, "Are you guys interviewing her? Are you planning on hiring her to work at your corporation for…sea monkeys and harpoons?"

I look at him, grateful. Sea monkeys? Harpoons? What the hell?

I laugh and the rest join in.

Sasuke has a look on his face that reads "wtf?."

"Sea monkeys? Harpoons? Really?" Ino asks, but she laughs with us.

Kiba shrugs and smiles. I wish I was as confident as him, sometimes. That would be useful in some situations.

"Keg's here!" a voice shouts from the kitchen. In walks a guy with white hair. He, along with a sort of chubby orange-haired guy, walks in, carrying a keg. The orange-haired guy is carrying another.

"There's a lot more in Zetsu's truck, just in case," the white-haired guy explains.

"Thanks, Kimimaro," Suigetsu says to him. To the orange-haired guy, he says, "Thanks Jirobo."

They both nod.

"Well, let's get this party started!" Suigetsu shouts, loud enough for the people who aren't sitting in our circle to hear him.

People cheer and the music is turned up louder. Cups of whatever is in the kegs are distributed to thirsty guests.

We all get up and start dancing.

I have to admit, I actually was having fun in the first few hours of the party, even when Karin, along with Kabuto and Sasori, arrived. She scowled when she saw me, but didn't say anything.

As long as I keep staying clear from her, I will be fine.

But, in the middle of the "pumped-up" night, things start going downhill.

I'm outside in the backyard, talking with Kiba and getting some air before we go back into the house.

Ino and Sai are nowhere to be found. My guess? They probably snuck off to make out in a closet or something.

The last time I saw Sasuke, he was in deep conversation with Karin. She, of course, was flirting with him. She was laughing at everything he was saying and touching is arm every few sentences.

Sakura wouldn't be so happy if she saw. Not that Sasuke's her property, but still.

Anyway, Kiba and I are talking. It's barely eight and the party is just kicking into high gear.

He's taking a sip from his cup every so often, while I do the same with mine. We're drinking normal soda. When I asked Suigetsu for something nonalcoholic, he kind of…laughed at me. Then again, from the way he was talking, he seemed a little- how do I put it?- oh yeah…tipsy.

Konan, however, was nice enough to find some soda for us in the pantry. She stayed outside for a while with us, before going back in the house. She said something about, "helping to make sure things don't get too out of hand," or something like that. Some people already did some stupid things an hour into the party. One drunk guy started peeing in the kitchen, while some drunk girl started dancing very provocatively on one of the tables. Nagato somehow managed to get the guy to go to the restroom to pull himself together. Konan had made the girl get down from the table and led her away from the cheering crowd of guys that accumulated around the table she was on. She helped her sober up a little bit. Then, of course, both the guy and girl drank again. I remembered how annoyed Konan was. She mumbled something along the lines of, "Stupid kids."

Eventually, Kiba and I go back inside. Since I drank too much soda, I excuse myself to go to the bathroom, while Kiba holds my cup. He offers to escort me, but I stubbornly refuse.

Instead of arguing with me, he tells me to call him if anything goes wrong. I guess he didn't want to upset me by still following me.

I jokingly roll my eyes.

"I'm serious, I shouldn't even be letting you wander off alone in a group of drunk party guests," Kiba says in a concerned tone.

I shrug and walk to the closest bathroom, which is downstairs. I knock and hear no response.

I assume it's vacant. I open it and turn on the light. I see a group of kids surrounded by smoke. A few of them have glazed looks in their eyes.

One of them covers their eyes with one of their arms and screams, "The light burns!"

"Close the door!" another yells.

"Hey, cutie. Want a hit?" some guy who is amongst them asks.

I quickly shut it and blush. Drugs, nice. Just as I thought. I should probably report this to Konan and Nagato later. Suigetsu, by now, is probably too drunk to care about anything at this point, even though it's his own house.

I decide to go upstairs and search for one of the other bathrooms Suigetsu told me about earlier, when he gave Kiba and I a tour of the house before he started drinking.

I see one right by the top of the stairs. I open it and blush at what I see.

I see a shirtless Sai making out with Ino, who is- wait a minute. Ino doesn't have red hair and she most certainly doesn't wear glasses. Also, when I saw her earlier tonight, she definitely wasn't wearing a red halter top that was displaying her belly button and black short-shorts, which, by the way, are **very **short.

The point is, that is **not** Ino.

Sai puts his hands underneath Karin's shirt. Karin giggles. Both of them have their eyes closed, so they don't notice me. I feel like a weird stalker for watching.

This has to stop.

I cough, signaling to them there is a third person in the room.

They stop their little make-out session and look at me.

Karin grins at me and says, "Hey Hinata." She's obviously drunk. She would never greet me that nicely in a billion years. She would never greet me at all.

I swear, for a second, Sai looks nervous or guilty. He then regains his "I'm so cool" composure.

I'm speechless because, 1: Sai is **Ino's** boyfriend and 2: Karin and Suigetsu, supposedly, have a thing for each other. Sasori told me.

So…if Karin and Sai are here together, where's Ino?

I turn on the light in the closet so I can see their faces more clearly.

"Well, what are you doing? Are you just going to stand there? Or can you leave us be?" Karin asks, returning to her bitter self.

"Or do you want to join?" Sai asks, suggestively.

Karin giggles and hiccups.

Sai disgusts me. No, they **both** disgust me.

"Sai…you asshole," are the only words that manage to escape from my mouth.

Sai shrugs.

"Can't help it if he decides to take on better opportunities," Karin says, while giggling.

She's starting to annoy me.

"You're dating Ino, aren't you?" I ask, furiously. I cross my arms.

"I'm allowed to seek other options, aren't I? After all, that slutty- *hiccup*- friend of yours did," Sai says.

I freeze.

Did something happen with him and Ino tonight?

"You have no right to call one of my best friends that, you jerk," I say to him.

"You really think those idiots are your friends? Face it, once an outcast always an outcast. Won't be long until they realize how much of a loser you are. Remember Sakura in the sixth grade? Only a matter of time until she comes crawling back to me," Karin says, while smirking.

I look down at my feet.

"And you think you're so hot just because you suddenly have a little sense of fashion today. Face it. You need make up in order to _**possibly**_ be considered moderately attractive. News flash, you're not. You'll never be, you stupid slut," Karin says and hiccups again.

I look up and stand up straight.

I look her straight in the eye.

We have a stare off that feels like it lasts for centuries.

"You know what, Karin," I say, "I'm not going to bother wasting my words on you. You're not worth it."

I turn on my heel and walk downstairs to look for Ino.

I hear Karin mumble something along the lines of, "stupid bitch."

"Takes one to know one," I mumble to myself.

"_**Nice comback,"**_ the voice says sarcastically.

I feel someone grab my arm. I turn and see Kiba.

"Kiba, have you seen Ino?" I ask.

At the mention of Ino's name, I notice him, for a brief second, get a nervous look on his face and then he regains his composure, which reminds me, briefly, of Sai.

Kiba shrugs.

I shake him off of me. How helpful…

I look around downstairs, but can't find Ino anywhere. I walk into the living room, where there are bunch of people dancing. Some are dancing and laughing with their friends while others are kind of…grinding against one another.

How disturbing…

I see Ino sitting on one of the couches, talking with Sasuke. She looks like she's in distress.

I go over to them and sit next to Ino.

"Hinata," she says, while hugging me, "I need my friends with me right now."

"Sai saw something that wasn't what it looked like. I'll tell you later," Ino says. She takes a sip from her cup and asks, "Have you seen him? He's so dramatic," Ino says.

"Oh, and you're not?" Sasuke asks.

That's the second time he's made a comment like that. At any other time, I would have laughed, but right now is not the time to joke like that. My friend is, obviously, hurting.

Ino glares at him, while I give him a warning look.

Sasuke sighs, rolls his eyes, and says, "Sorry."

Ino turns back to me and asks, "Well?"

"Erm…" is my response. I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Erm, what?" Ino questions.

"I saw…"

"Spit it out, Hyuga," She says.

I sigh.

"I saw Sai and Karin making out…in a bathroom," I say slowly.

Ino's jaw drops.

Sasuke, for a second, looks shocked himself, but he doesn't say anything.

"I can't believe it…" Ino says. Tears start falling from her eyes.

I pat her back and say, "I know. Sai's a jerk. You deserve and can do so much better," I encourage her. It's the truth. I never lie, after all.

"No, I can't believe that the girl I met only two weeks ago would do this to me. Even after all I've done for her. I went out of my way to talk to her," Ino says, while standing up.

I stand up as well and face her.

"What?" I ask.

"You _**know**_ I'm talking about you," Ino says, adopting a dangerous tone. She crosses her arms.

I just stare at her.

"You lying, bitch," Ino says, sourly.

"Who me?" I ask, in shock.

"You heard me, stupid," Ino says back.

I keep staring at her.

"Oh, and by the way. You're trying _**way **_to hard. If people didn't think you were attractive then, why would they now? Just because you have a cute dress, nice shoes, and makeup you feel "all that"?" Ino asks.

I open my mouth to say something, but close it again.

"In fact," Ino continues on, "You look trashy."

"Ino-" I start to say, but she cuts me off.

"Just because you will never get a boyfriend doesn't mean you have to ruin the relationship I have with mine!" Ino snaps.

Sasuke stands up. "Ino-"

"Don't defend this little, jealous, home wrecker!" Ino snaps at him now.

"Stop calling me such names," I say, "I'm not trying to ruin your relationship with your little boyfriend," I say.

"Bull shit," Ino scoffs.

"Ino, please. You don't mean all of that crap you just said," I plead.

"Maybe we should go outside for air?" Sasuke suggests.

"No. _**You **_two can go outside for air. _**I'm**_ going to go find _**my **_boyfriend," Ino says, "Oh, and one more thing, Hinata. You're such a waste." Then Ino storms off.

My eyes sting with tears that refuse to come out. A waste?

"Hinata, she'll come to her senses. She's just emotional right now. Let her cool down," Sasuke says calmly, "She's also had a few drinks. She doesn't mean it, I promise."

I don't say anything.

"Hinata?" Sasuke asks. I feel him lightly touch my arm. "Let's go outside- no- better yet, let's go find Kiba. He was looking for you."

I shake him off and walk away.

I hear him sigh and I feel bad. He's trying to make me feel better and I totally just blew him off.

I keep walking though.

I feel someone grab my arm.

God, people need to stop grabbing me.

I recognize the grip.

"Hinata?" Kiba asks.

I turn and face him, "What?"

"I called you like four times. Where were you? I was worried," Kiba says. He hands me another cup of soda, which I reluctantly take.

I slowly take a sip.

"What's going on, Hina-chan?" Kiba asks. He's being _**way**_ too concerned.

"Don't be so worried," I say, rolling my eyes.

He raises his eyebrow, confused.

"I'm so sick of everyone always being concerned about me," I say, "I'm not some frickin' little child that has to be babied all the time. Stop it. It's annoying."

Whoa, where is this all coming from?

"I was just worried. _**Excuse **_me for caring about one of my best friends," Kiba says.

"I wish you would stop caring so much. I can handle myself, you know. I don't need anyone. You always go overboard," I say, "_**Everyone **_does."

Kiba scoffs at me, "_**Please**_."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask.

"That's just it. You _**can't **_handle yourself. You _**do**_ need people. You can't be alone, otherwise you get all depressed. In fact, you are _**always**_ depressed, even when Tenten, Neji, Shino, and I are around. You are so confusing. You get so upset. Then, when we try to ask you what's wrong, you get all defensive, sometimes mad. You and I are such opposites. Lately, I've been wondering how we're even friends and how long we'll last," Kiba says. I can tell he's starting to get upset. Maybe something else is bothering him too.

"Kiba, is something wrong?" I ask.

He glares at me and gets closer.

He smells like Sake, that alcoholic drink that I hear Principal Tsunade is in love with.

Since when does Kiba drink?

"Yeah. The fact that you're getting annoyed at me for being a good friend," Kiba says.

I know him too well to believe that. There must- no- there _**is **_something else going on. Whatever it is must have driven him to drink himself silly and now the alcohol is making all his bottled-up emotions spill out. He's taking it out on me. I don't want to do this while he's drunk and upset.

Still, that doesn't mean he gets to be so mean. First Ino, now him.

"You're the one who's being a jerk right now," I say back.

"How am I being a jerk? You're the one who is being an ungrateful bitch!" Kiba snaps at me.

I can't help but gasp at him. I never thought he of all people would say that to me. Then again, I also never thought Ino would either.

"How am I ungrateful? Because I no longer want to be a burden on others?" I ask.

"Who said you were a burden? Well, maybe you are, if you say so. Then I won't disagree with you, bitch," Kiba says.

"Douchebag," I say back, which surprises me once the word comes out.

"Loser," he says back.

"Asshole," I retort.

"You're pathetic," he says.

My heart sinks.

"Well, I guess I'm just a pathetic, dependent, waste of a life," I say, while the tears finally manage to escape.

"You forgot bitchy, my dear," Kiba says.

I throw my cup of soda at him.

"Go to hell," I say.

"Nope, I'm good. There may be a chance you would be there," Kiba scoffs.

I storm off.

That was the _**last **_straw.

I go to the kitchen, where I see Konan, Nagato, Deidara, Suigetsu, Zetsu, Sasori Kin, Kabuto, Jugo, Hidan and Kimimaro.

"Hey, girl!" Deidara shouts, "Come join us."

I gladly go to them and take a seat on the counter, next to Deidara.

"What's wrong?" Konan asks.

"It's…nothing," I reply, but she doesn't look too convinced.

Suigetsu downs the rest of whatever is in his cup and gets off the counter.

I sigh. I get up and walk out. Seeing Suigetsu reminds me of Karin and Sai, which remind me of Ino. The fight with Ino reminds me of the fight with Kiba.

I wander around the house, feeling like a lost puppy.

I hear someone scream, the sounds of glass breaking, a ton of cheering, and someone yelling, "That's it! You asked for it!" and another person pleading, "Please, don't do this guys."

I don't think too much about it.

"_**Don't get yourself involved in something you have no business with," **_I command myself in my thoughts.

All I want to do is go home, but who could possibly drive me home? I'm definitely not walking this late at night in some neighborhood I'm not familiar with.

I walk out to the front yard and look through my phone.

I can't call Sakura or Temari. They would kill me if they knew I came here. Tenten would freak out and Neji would just freaking lose it. Hana's probably asleep now. The plan was, earlier, that Kiba and I get a ride from Deidara, or Sasori, or Konan. But, they all had something to drink. Not enough to get drunk or even tipsy though.

But, I don't want to risk it if we, for some reason, get stopped by cops. I really don't need more drama tonight.

I keep looking through my contacts. Lee would tell Neji, out of concern. Gaara's with Neji right now at his house.

Is Sasuke still here?

Even if he is, someone needs to give Ino and Kiba a ride, right?

What an awkward car ride that would be.

So maybe that's a "no" on Sasuke then, too.

My cell phone then "dings."

I check it:

**New Message from Naruto:**

Dude. I just got off the phone with Sasuke. He sounded like he was panicking, which worries me. I've barely heard him sound as he did just now. :(

That's weird. I wonder…

I reply: **Really? Do you know what happened?**

**New Message from Naruto:**

I don't have the slightest idea. I could barely hear him. The background of wherever he is was too noisy. I heard loud music, glass breaking, and a bunch of obnoxious cheering.

That worries me now. I should get out of here.

I reply: **Where is he?**

**New Message from Naruto:**

At some party. He invited me to go, but I declined. Not my type of crowd. Shit. Went. Down. :( Ino and Kiba got into some trouble too.

I break out into a cold sweat. What's happening?

I reply:** Do you know if he's still at the party? All of them?**

**New Message from Naruto:**

No. When he called me, he said Ino was waiting in his car. I think she's drunk. He was looking for Kiba. That was about ten minutes ago. Why?

I hear some more glass breaking and someone yelling, "Ow! Dammit!"

"Stop it, you guys!"

"Nice job!"

"My phone!"

I reply: **No reason…just wondering. I better go.**

My phone "dings" again.

**New Message from Naruto**

I don't bother to read it.

I walk back inside and awkwardly sit on the couch in the living room.

I sigh. What am I going to do? I have no way to get home, I probably lost two good friends, my feet are killing me, my head and heart ache, and I'm so tired.

After about ten to fifteen minutes, my phone, which I set to vibrate because of the deafening music, signals me that someone is calling:

**Incoming Call:**

Naruto

I sigh and answer.

I walk to the backyard, where it's quiet, and ask, "Yes?"

"Where are you?" Naruto asks back.

"Why do you care?" I ask.

I feel someone tap my shoulder. I turn around.

"N-Naruto? How did you?..." I ask. I can't believe he's right in front of me right now.

"I'm not always as dense as people say," he says.

He hangs up his phone and I do the same with mine. He holds my hand and walks my back into the house. I let him pull me along until we get to the front yard and to his car. I get in the front passenger seat while he gets in the driver's seat.

"Alright, talk," Naruto says.

"There's nothing to say," I answer.

"Then why are you so upset?" He asks. He looks worried.

I start to cry. I just let everything out.

Naruto reaches over and hugs me. He holds onto me.

"Let it all out," he says, while patting my back.

I cry until I can't cry anymore.

I sniffle and he continues to hold me. He plays with my hair.

I sigh.

"I-I had a fight with both Ino and…Kiba," I say. I tell him all that was said.

"Wow…sheesh," is his reaction, "That bad?"

I nod.

"Well, if you guys really are best friends, you will someday make up. If not, then maybe it's not meant to be," Naruto advises me.

It's not what I want to hear, but I still nod in agreement. I feel a little better.

He lets go of me and starts his car.

We talk throughout the ride to my house. The twenty minute ride felt more like a five minute ride because of this.

I am a little disappointed when we finally arrived in front of my house. I hug him and thank him. I get out of the car and am stopped when I hear him say, "Wait."

I turn and see he is out of his car. "Let me walk with you," he says.

We walk together to my front porch.

"Guess I'll talk to you later then?" Naruto asks.

I nod and smile wearily.

"Get some sleep, okay? You look exhausted," Naruto says.

"I will," I say.

He kisses me on the cheek and I blush.

He winks at me, waves, and walks back to his car. He waves one last time before driving off.

I wave until I no longer can see his car.

I go into my house, take off my heels, walk upstairs, take a quick shower, put on a gray t-shirt and blue pajama pants, and get in my bed.

I can't stop blushing because of Naruto. It helps me temporarily forget that I may never make up with Ino or Kiba.

Eventually, sleep catches me and I'm out the entire night.

**So. How was that? Thank you for taking the time to read it. I do not encourage alcohol use or anything similar to that. This is just a story. Thanks for reading.**

**Until Later,**

**Daydreaming Soundly ^_^**


	9. Apology Accepted?

**Hey. I was bored, so I thought, why not upload TWO chapters today at the same time. :D**

**And I know I say this A LOT, but I apologize for any mistakes I miss. I have looked at my past chapters and I think I'm getting a LITTLE better with this, but I can still improve. And improve I shall do. xD**

**I do not own Naruto. **

Hinata's POV

I wake up on Sunday morning. I still feel very tired. I have no idea how late I got home. Like it matters though. My parents aren't home. The Hyuga elders come back tonight. That doesn't make a difference though. The elders always look down upon me, always telling me how naïve and weak I am. They obviously prefer Hanabi, who, ironically, wants nothing to do with them. They have high hopes for her.

I think I've said this before.

Anyway, when I wake up, I lay down in bed for a while. I then check my phone.

**15 Missed Calls.**

**4 New Voicemail Messages**

**5 New Text Messages**

I decide to check all the missed calls first.

Five of the calls are from Ino, four are from Tenten, three more are from Shino, two are from Neji, and one is from Sakura.

Instead of wasting time calling them back, I listen to my voicemail messages next. I'm just not in the mood to talk to anyone. What could Ino possibly want? As for Tenten, Neji, and Shino, my guess is they probably heard about what went down. I doubt they would call me that many times just to say "hi." As for Sakura…well, I really can't say. She and I have never talked on the phone. Well, at least this year. In fourth through fifth grade, she would call me every day.

Anyway, I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone.

I listen to the first voicemail:

"**Hinata! What's going on? Call me okay? Oh and this is Tenten, obviously. Ha…"**

I listen to the second voicemail:

"**Hey. This is Temari. Ino just bitched to me about who-knows-what. It's almost two in the morning and now, thanks to her, I can't go back to sleep. Call me."**

I listen to the third voicemail:

"**This is Neji…call me."**

I listen to the fourth voicemail:

"**Hey, Hinata. It's Sakura. I was just calling to see if you needed a friend to talk to. I heard what happened with Ino and Kiba. If you want to talk, I'm here. Right now it's like seven in the morning, so I'm guessing you're asleep still. Well anyway, I'll try again later. Bye."**

I then check the text messages:

**1 New Message from Ino:**

I asked Sai, he said he had no idea what I was asking about. You're just jealous. And why would Karin do that? She's my friend.

"_**Aren't I your friend too, Ino? Why would I lie?"**_ I think to myself.

**1 New Message from Naruto:**

Hey, Hina-chan. Good morning :) How are you feeling?

**1 New Message from Chouji:**

Dude. I heard what you said to Ino. Why?

I frown a little at Chouji's text.

**1 New Message from Kiba:**

I said some real shit last night to you. I'm sorry :(

I think about calling him, then change my mind. For some reason, I'm just not ready to talk to him.

**1 New Message from Matsuri:**

Hey. Um, you ok?

I try to decide on which texts to reply and which ones to ignore.

I decide to just ignore all of them.

Then, of course, I get a call from Sakura.

I reluctantly answer, but remain silent.

"Hello?" I hear Sakura's voice.

I just sigh.

"Hey, Hinata. How are you?" She asks.

"How am I? How _**am **_I? You tell me," I snap, without meaning to.

I hear _**her **_sigh then say, "Yeah, that was a stupid question. My bad."

"I'm just so tired of people like Karin. She can do whatever she wants and treat people however she wants, and people still strive to be like her. People still want to be her friend. Why is she so popular anyway?" I rant on.

"I hear you. And that's what popularity does. The popular people can act as douche-y as they want and yet still are able to get all the girls, or guys, people want to associate with them, and they never face any consequences. The innocent people always pay, for some reason. Kind of like with you. Karin was the one making out with Sai and yet, Ino's pissed off at you," Sakura says.

I sigh and say, "It's just not fair."

"Yeah, well, what can you do?" Sakura asks, but I know she really wasn't looking for an answer.

We stay silent for a few seconds.

Then Sakura asks, "Do you want to hang out today? Just the two of us?"

I think about it for a second.

"Unless, you already have plans," Sakura quickly adds.

What do I really have planned for today? Hanabi's at Moegi's and the elders, like I said before, won't be home until nighttime. So, basically, I will be by myself the whole day.

I shrug, not that she can see me, and reply, "Sure."

"Great," she says happily, "We could go rent a movie or something."

"Sounds fun," I say.

"I can pick you up," Sakura says.

"Okay," I reply.

"Crap. I just remembered. I don't exactly have a car right now. My parents both need their cars, so I'll just bike over," Sakura says.

"So you're not picking me up after all, then? Are we walking?" I ask.

"You can ride my handle bars," Sakura suggests, giggling.

I laugh.

"I remember when we used to do that all the time when we were kids," Sakura says, while sighing.

I smile as I start to remember the good old days, before Karin came in the picture.

"Yeah," I say.

"Yeah. So, I'll be there soon. See you then?" Sakura asks.

"Of course," I say.

We then say our "good byes" and hang up.

I wake up and groan the next day, Monday. I'm not looking forward to seeing Ino, Karin, or Sai. Kiba, I have been ignoring. Well, not exactly ignoring…just…not talking to him.

Okay, so I _**have**_ been ignoring him, I admit it. Don't judge me.

I just, I don't know.

Ever since Saturday night, all he has said has been running through my mind.

It makes me worry about us.

_**How **_are we even _**still **_ friends?

Every time I think about him, I get a sick feeling in my stomach.

And all he has done is text me once.

I know how bad this may sound, but if he _**really **_was sorry, wouldn't he put more effort to get ahold of me?

Am I a stuck up, horrible person for thinking this?

I mean, after all, he lives only a few houses away from me.

Ugh.

By the way, Sakura…well I actually had fun with her. She and I ended up just getting a bunch of candy and went to the park and sat on the swings while eating and talking.

We didn't talk about anything to intense though. Just about small things like music, school, and toe rings, yes, toe rings. We even talked about crushes and potential couples at our school. Of course, I already knew about Sakura's crush on Sasuke, but I never told her about my crush on Naruto.

Though, I'm not sure if I have to. A few people have guessed already, like Neji, Ino, and even Matsuri. Of course Kiba and Tenten know. Temari teases me nonstop about it.

Of course, Sakura ended up telling me she knows I like Naruto. All I could do was blush and react defensively, which only proved her point even more.

But, I had fun. It felt like the good old days.

Anyway, after taking a shower and straightening my hair a little, I look through my wardrobe. I decide on wearing a black t-shirt, dark blue skinny jeans, a white belt, and my white, Converse high tops. I put my hair up in its normal, high ponytail style, go downstairs, and wait for Tenten. Hanabi ended up sleeping over at Moegi's, so Moegi's mom is driving Hanabi to school this morning.

When Tenten finally arrives, I walk outside, and enter her car. Without saying a word to me, she proceeds to drive to Konoha High. She has this weird look on her face. It's an interesting mixture of a sad face, a scowl, and maybe a glare. This look, whatever it is, is a signal that she, probably, doesn't want to be bothered right at this moment.

Fine with me.

I close my eyes and soak in the silence of the ride to school.

The day has been going by so slowly. In my first hour class, I sit as far away as possible from my normal spot next to Ino. I make sure she can't see me. I have no idea if she's still mad, but I don't feel like finding out, thank you very much.

Sakura had said last night that she would talk to Ino, but I have yet to know how that went.

During homeroom, which is usually one of my favorite times of the school day, Kiba is nowhere to be seen.

In all the classes I have with Naruto, Naruto had spent the entire time trying to cheer me up.

Now I'm at lunch, dealing with an awkward silence at the table.

Kiba is sitting next to me, but he's talking to Shino, who's next to him. He hasn't said a word to me.

Good.

Matsuri keeps sharing glances with Ino, who is sitting right across from me and scowling while nudging her fork in her salad.

I see Matsuri mouth something to Ino, but I'm bad at reading lips, so it's hard to catch what she says.

Ino then shakes her head at Matsuri and gives her a sad look.

I look back down at my noodles and pretend to be busy twirling them on my fork. I'm not going to put it in my mouth though. I'm not hungry.

I hear someone sigh.

"Hinata?" I hear Ino's voice.

I look up. Everyone else stops their own mini conversations and looks in Ino's direction.

She sighs again.

I just stare at her.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I guess I was just in denial," Ino says.

"You guess?" Temari says, while shaking her head.

"Temari, shush," Sakura says.

"Anyway, I'm sorry. You were right. I just had, or still, sadly, have, feelings for Sai. He was perfect. I guess the thought of him cheating seemed unbelievable. He also, over the years I've known him, never seemed like the cheating type. I'm sorry I said those things. I didn't mean them. And you didn't look like trash, no, not at all. I loved your dress. and…how many times can I say it? A hundred? A thousand? A million? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Ino says, "I don't want to lose such a good friend just because I'm so…so…"

"Stubborn?" Shikamaru suggests.

"Difficult?" Lee adds.

"You called her trash?" Tenten asks.

"Will you guys let her finish?" Naruto asks, with a slight annoyance in his voice.

I am starting to get annoyed as well.

"Hinata? I'm sorry, that's all I can say," Ino says.

All eyes are now on me.

Ino apologized that quickly? Usually, from experience, people tend to take a week or two, maybe three…or forever, to apologize.

Part of me wants to tell her off, which something I rarely do, and then storm off.

You know, like in the movies.

But the softer, more sympathetic part of me notices that she is, practically, on the verge of tears.

I think about her apology. I then stand up and walk to where she's sitting.

"Scoot," I tell her and she makes room for me on her chair.

"What you said really hurt me," I say.

"I know, I'm so sorry," Ino says.

"Even if you were drunk," I whisper to her so only she can hear.

"What! I wasn't drunk," Ino whispers back, surprised.

"Hey, can you guys talk louder? We can't hear your youthful words," Lee says.

"Shut up, Lee," Neji says.

I ignore them and continue to whisper to her.

"But you smelled like Sake. Sasuke said-" Ino interrupts me.

"He wasn't there for the whole thing that happened," She says slowly.

"But-" once again, Ino cuts me off.

"I was hysterical, remember? And there was an accident with the…Sake," Ino whispers the last word.

I must have looked confused because Ino whispers, "I'll explain later, okay? But, I really am sorry."

I sigh.

"Fine," I say back.

I hug her and she hugs back. I hear her sigh very deeply.

Our whole table, for some reason, starts clapping.

I hear a few "awws" as well.

I immediately feel as if I'm in a sitcom.

"There goes Karin again. Ruining another person's relationship," Tenten says.

"_Almost_," Shino says.

"Well, technically, it's Sai's fault. He cheated," Lee says.

"But, Karin knows that they are dating," Chouji says.

"Correction, _**were **_dating," Ino says, firmly.

"We have to do something about her and her whole posse too," Temari says.

"I'm down with that," Sakura says.

"Someone has to teach them all that they can't just go on living and acting the way they do and not face any consequences," Ino says.

"I like that idea," Shikamaru says, "Troublesome, but I like it.

The others, even Shino, nod in agreement. Well, everyone except for Sasuke, Naruto, and Matsuri.

Well, I have no idea how Sasuke would react, since he is absent from our lunch table today.

Naruto stays quiet, which is very unusual for him, while Matsuri shares her input.

"I don't know guys. If we did get back at her, wouldn't we be just as bad as Karin and her friends?" Matsuri asks.

I silently agree with her. I'm a bit skeptical as well.

"We're doing it for a good cause," Ino says.

"Not just for us, but for everyone who has been insulted, embarrassed, or miserable because of _**them**_," Sakura explains.

I immediately remember elementary school with Karin and her friends. I then recall these past few weeks with her. I feel sour.

I then change _**my**_ mind. Maybe this isn't such a bad idea after all.

"I love you all, but I don't like this idea," Matsuri says. She then gets up to dispose of her tray. She mistakenly bumps into Karin on her way to the trash bins.

Matsuri looks down and sees her tray stuck, for a millisecond, to her. It then proceeds to fall to the ground, leaving behind a giant, orange stain on Matsuri's white shirt.__

"Walk much dumbass?" Karin asks, in a snotty, kind of loud voice.

Tayuya and Jugo snicker.

The whole cafeteria, well, excluding my table, of course, starts to laugh as well.

Kin covers her mouth, while Sakon smirks at Matsuri.

The five of them then proceed to walk out of the cafeteria.

Matsuri walks back to the table. She sits down, without any emotion on her face.

"Alright, I'm in," Matsuri says.

"Alright then. How about we all meet at my house this Friday and start planning. Be thinking of ideas," Ino says.

"Then it's settled," Kiba says.

"We're taking that bitch and her crew down," Sakura says.

I have a very bad feeling about the look on her face.

**Hey. Surprisingly, I don't have much to say, except, thank you for reading and have an awesome day, evening, night, whatever time zone you are in xD **

**Until Later:**

**Daydreaming Soundly ^_^**


	10. Well, I'm Confused Now

**Hey. So here is another chapter. I apologize, again, for taking so long to update. I also apologize for any mistakes I miss. Well, that's all I have to say. I will not rant on and on this time. :)**

**I do not own Naruto.**

Hinata's POV

"How about we get them to stop being so popular?" Sakura suggests.

"Isn't that the reason why we're here? Nice plan, Sakura," Shikamaru says sarcastically.

Sakura then flips Shikamaru off, without showing any emotion in her face.

"Ouch. Burn," Gaara says.

Matsuri giggles.

"How about we get two of us, one guy and one girl, to become friends with them?" Ino says.

"What? Who would be stupid enough to be friends with _**any**_ of them?" Temari asks.

I remember how close I've gotten with Deidara, Sasori, Konan, and Nagato. I don't think I've told any of my friends about them. It's been bothering me ever since Monday when they decided to follow through. A few hours later it hit me that I'm friends with a few of _**them**_.

I really think it would be wise to let my friends know that not all of them are bad people, like Karin, and that they should leave those four out of their plans. They haven't done any bad…at least to me.

Still, I keep my mouth shut.

I also start to wonder if they know about the party and how we hung out with them? If so, why haven't they yelled at us yet? By "us," I mean Ino, Sasuke, and I. Oh, and Kiba too.

"Nice, Temari. You just called Hinata, Sasuke, and I stupid," Naruto says.

Temari looks confused.

"What are you talking about, Naruto?" Tenten asks.

Uh oh, I guess they really don't know then. All hell is going to break loose now. I can feel it.

"I'm friends with Kabuto, who's one of _**them**_," Naruto says.

"Deidara, Konan, Sasori, and Nagato treat me like their little brother. My brother and his best friend were friends with them before they graduated, remember?" Sasuke adds.

Then eyes are on me.

"No offense, but why would they want to hang out with you, Hinata?" Temari asks.

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru says, referring to Temari.

"I have Art with Deidara, Sasori, and Konan. They introduced me to Nagato. We…hung out last Saturday," I say quietly.

Temari thinks about it for a second. Then she puts two and two together.

"You were at that stupid party last weekend, weren't you?" Temari says in an accusing voice.

"Sai was there too, which means…you were there too Ino," Tenten says.

I look at Ino.

"Guess I left the part about the party out, huh?" Ino says, innocently. She shrugs.

"You said you weren't hanging out with Karin again. I thought you learned your lesson about her? So you lied?" Sakura questions Ino.

"You also know how we feel about _**those**_ types of parties, so un-youthful," Lee says.

"And you had the decency to bring Hinata along, too and corrupt her?" Temari says.

"Whoa. _**I**_ didn't invite Hinata," Ino says defensively.

"Deidara invited me," I say.

"And Sasuke. you said something about picking Ino and Kiba up from somewhere, but you were kind of vague about where," Tenten says.

"That means you _**and **_Kiba were there, too," Neji says.

"Guys, this is ridiculous. So what if they're friends with some of them? Maybe this means that not all of _**them**_ are bad," Matsuri says.

"Or may they have poor judgement," Temari says back.

There's an awkward silence in the room.

"Ok, Sasori and Kabuto, I suppose, I can tolerate," Sakura says.

"Sure, but Konan is very cold person, Deidara is kind of a jerk, and Nagato is an insensitive jock. People don't call him "Pain" for nothing," Tenten says.

"Ok fine. To make Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and Kiba happy, we'll leave just those five out of our plans," Shikamaru suggests.

"None of those people are my friends, so I don't give a damn what you decide to do with them," Kiba says.

"Okay, excluding Kiba," Shikamaru revises.

The others, reluctantly, nod, agreeing with Shikamaru.

We then continue to brain storm.

Or, rather, the others continue to brain storm, while I silently listen.

"Anyway, going on with my plan, we could get a person or people to befriend them. Then they become popular, then eventually dethrone Karin," Ino says.

"That sounds kind of cliché," I hear myself say.

"How so?" Ino asks.

"Well, think about it. You see this story line everywhere. There's a popular group. Everyone hates them but secretly wish to be friends with them and be just like them. Group of "geeks," "nerds," "losers," ""outcasts," whatever you call them, decide to find a way to, using your words, "dethrone" them. They decide to use one of the members of their group, usually someone fresh, new, and sometimes naïve, to help them with their plan. This designated person then ends up rising to the top and befriending the queen bee and her friends. Then, eventually, the queen bee loses her crown. The "geek," is now the "queen." But, they end up not being any better than the last queen bee they just dethroned. The "geek" ends up losing their real friends _**and**_ sometimes their new popular friends. The "geek" realizes what they've become and changes their ways. They end up winning their friends back and, if there is any, getting the guy or girl. Everyone lives happily ever after, the end," I explain.

"That sounds like the plot to a movie that Naruto, Sasuke, and I saw two months ago," Sakura says.

"Sounds like the plot to a book I finished reading last night," Matsuri says.

"You see?" I ask.

"She has a point, guys," Naruto starts to say, "Kind of predictable."

"Fine, we'll put this plan on hold for now," Ino says.

We all nod in agreement.

We end up watching some movie from Ino's many selections.

We all squish together on the couch with blankets and popcorn.

The lights are off, with the surround sound system on, giving the whole movie theater experience.

About a third way into the movie, Ino, Tenten, Neji, Gaara, Shino, Kiba, and, of course, Shikamaru are asleep.

Neji and Tenten were snuggling together before they had fallen asleep. Kiba was sitting criss cross apple sauce (what? I still say that :P) with his hands behind his head, when he fell asleep. Gaara, who is next to Kiba, has both his feet stretch out on the floor in front of him. He was leaning back on the couch before he fell asleep. Ino fell asleep on her back. Her butt is on Kiba's lap, which I plan on teasing her about later on. Her head is on one of Gaara's thighs, which, before falling asleep, Kiba made a _**very**_ inappropriate joke about. Ino had shoved her feet in his face right after.

Her feet are now in Sakura's lap.

Shino, for some reason, opted for sleeping on the floor. He's covered in a blanket.

Shikamaru has his head in Temari's lap. Temari her elbow on the arm rest of the couch. Her cheek is in her hand. Every now and then she looks like she's drifting off. Then she quickly will open her eyes, shake her head, watch the movie, and repeat.

Naruto was the one who had pointed out that everyone was falling asleep.

Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have noticed.

He and I were trying not to laugh too loudly, so we wouldn't wake any of them up.

Naruto is in between Sasuke and I. Sakura has her head on Sasuke's shoulder, while Sasuke has his hand on her knee.

Hmm. Interesting. I wonder if they have finally started going out.

Every time one of us asks, they both get defensive and deny.

Their reactions, of course, make the rest of us still skeptical.

At one point, during the movie, I have my hand on the space between Naruto and I.

I take my hand away for a brief moment to check my phone, making sure Hanabi has a ride home from soccer practice.

When my hand returns to its spot on the couch, I don't feel couch.

Whatever my hand lands on felt too smooth and warm to be the couch.

I move my hand back and forth, still puzzled.

Then I realize that my hand was not on the couch.

My hand was one someone else's-

"Hand?" I hear Naruto's voice. I see him staring at me.

"Huh?" is my oh-so-brilliant response.

"I asked why you are stroking my hand." Naruto repeats himself.

If my eyes aren't deceiving me, I swear I see a mixture of a smirk and a smile on his face after he asks me this.

I feel my face heat up.

Luckily, it's dark, so he probably can't see me blushing.

"S-sorry. I didn't mean to," I stutter.

"It's fine, I'm just teasing," Naruto says, while winking.

I feel myself blush once more.

"Hey, do you want to talk outside? Unless, you're still watching the movie," Naruto asks.

The movie? What mo- Ah yes. We're watching a movie. I kind of started getting lost after about twenty minutes into the thing.

All I picked up from it was it was about ninjas and had a lot of fighting in it.

"Sure," I say, trying not to sound to happy, even though I'm ecstatic. He always manages to make me feel that way.

Just thinking about him makes me crack a smile.

Anyway, Naruto stands up, turns to me, and holds out a hand.

I gently take it and let him pull me up.

"Going somewhere?" Sasuke asks, smirking.

"J-just outside to talk," I hear myself say. Darn my stuttering.

"Yeah, teme," Naruto says to Sasuke.

As we walk past Sasuke, I hear Sasuke mumble, "Dobe," under his breath.

Before Naruto can say anything back, I gently shove him.

"Keep moving," I say in jokingly stern voice.

"Yes, miss," Naruto says back to me. He gives me one of his famous, goofy grins.

When we walk past Sakura, I hear Sakura mumble, "Get some, Hina-chan," as she nudges me with her foot.

I feel myself blush.

"You better not be getting anything, or there shall be dire consequences," I hear Neji say.

Wow, even in his sleep he is his protective self.

"Oh, leave them be," I hear Tenten say this time.

I look in their direction and see that he _**and**_ Tenten are wide awake.

I giggle nervously.

I then realize that I'm still, somehow, holding hands with Naruto.

Part of me wants to let go and apologize over and over, but the other part wants it to stay like this…forever.

"Who's getting what?" I hear Temari ask.

"Can we go outside now?" I ask Naruto.

"Hell to the yes," he says back.

We then make our way outside.

As Naruto is closing the sliding glass door to Ino's backyard, I hear Temari shout, "Use protection! "

"Yeah, we don't need any babies up in here!" I hear Kiba add.

Speaking of Kiba, I've started talking to him again.

The look of relief on his face when I caught up with him in the hall today at school made me feel guilty.

He was so happy I was talking to him again.

We hugged and went on as if nothing happened.

So, I guess we're good again.

"Shut the hell up!" Naruto yells.

He then finishes closing the door.

"Oh my _**God**_," Naruto says.

I giggle.

"Those people," He continues on.

"Did you see Sakura and Sasuke?" I ask.

"Yes. I'm going to annoy him later tonight about that," Naruto says, while grinning.

"Do you think they like each other?" I ask.

"Hell yes," Naruto says, "Well, I know- wait. You can keep a secret, right?"

I look at him like he's insane and ask, "You're _**actually **_asking _**me **_this? Haven't we gotten close enough for you to know you can tell me anything?"

I'm surprised at how much I mean it.

"Oh right, sorry," Naruto says, flashing me another goofy grin.

"So, do tell," I say.

"Well, Sasuke likes Sakura," Naruto says slowly.

"I wouldn't have guessed," I say sarcastically.

"Really? Was it the way that he always looks at her or how concerned he gets whenever she's late or absent? Or was the way his hand was on her knee this entire night?" Naruto asks, pretending to be shocked.

"I know! What was up with that?" I ask.

"I know. He keeps telling me that I better not tell anyone or how he'll kill me, but it's obvious he likes her. Well, obvious you're really good at reading people, which I think you are," Naruto says.

I blush.

"I'm always told that I notice things other people tend to not think twice about," I say.

"Bragging, much?" He says, jokingly.

I smile at him.

"Well, since you're so good at reading people, what do my pages say?" Naruto asks.

"That's so cheesy," I say, laughing.

He laughs with me.

He then inches closer to me, "Seriously though, I'm curious."

He looks me right in the eyes.

_**His**_ eyes are so mesmerizing.

I can barely speak.

They're full of mischief, determination, kindness, warmth, and…is that love? And correct me if I'm wrong, but I also see a bit of doubt as well.

I blush.

He inches even closer to me.

For some reason, I feel myself inching towards him.

It's like a gravitational pull.

It's like we're both magnets.

It's like we have opposite charges. My guess is he would be the positive one and I the negative.

Whatever force is causing this, we're both inching closer and closer to one another.

I see him close his eyes and I do the same with mine.

I start to get butterflies in my stomach.

As we are about to meet in the middle, my phone, just like any cheesy romance movie, goes off.

What makes it even worse is it's on vibrate, which startles me to a point that I find myself jumping ten feet in the air. I feel myself stumble.

I brace myself for making contact with the cold, cold floor, but instead I feel myself being steadied by a pair of strong, warm hands.

I look at him, blushing.

What the hell just happened?

"You alright?" He asks, sounding concerned.

I avoid making eye contact with him, still in shock about the fact we were about to kiss.

Does this mean he likes me too?

"I um…uh…um…w-w-we should go inside, it's…it's getting chilly out here," I say, trying to hide my embarrassment.

This is totally bull though, since it's like seventy-eight degrees out tonight.

"Um…yeah?" he says with uncertainty in his voice. He looks conflicted and a little confused.

I'm_** feeling**_ conflicted and a little confused.

We walk inside to join the others.

We see that the lights are all on. The dreaded movie isn't playing anymore. The television is off.

Our friends are sitting in one huge circle, talking.

I take seat in between Sakura and Shino.

Naruto takes a seat between Sasuke and Kiba.

I see Sasuke whisper something to Naruto.

Naruto shakes his head.

Ino is giving me a look that is a mixture of suspicion, confusion, and a smirk.

Neji and Tenten are looking at me too.

I decide to busy myself with my cell phone.

I then remember the phone call from a few minutes ago. Frickin phone call…

Hm. I find out that it was just a text message.

Frickin text message…

I check it.

It's from Tenten.

I look at her and scowl.

She looks back at me, with a confused look on her face.

I open the text.

**1 New Message from Tenten:**

This is Temari. Too lazy to get my phone out of my backpack. The girls plan on interrogating you later. Be prepared :-D

I look up again, this time at Temari, who know has her own phone in possession. She must feel me staring intensely at her because she looks up at me. She smiles and waves.

I reply: **Screw you D:**

She gives me a puzzled look.

I shake my head and start a conversation with Sakura.

"So, what happened," Sakura whispers.

"Nothing," I say defensively and a little louder than I wanted.

"Doesn't seem like nothing," Sakura says, smiling.

I feel my face heat up.

"I'll bother you later, then," Sakura says, winking at me.

I just sigh.

I make the mistake of looking at Naruto.

He looks right back at me for a brief second.

I don't know if it's my eyes or not, but I swear I see his cheeks turn slightly pink.

He quickly looks away and talks to Sasuke.

"So, the dance is coming up, anyone as excited as I am?" Ino asks.

"You have to come dress shopping with us, Hina-chan," Sakura says.

I hear Temari and Tenten groan.

I see Matsuri shaking her head and mouthing something along the lines of, "Don't do it."

"You two are insane when it comes to clothes," Tenten says.

"And make up," Temari adds.

"And boys," Naruto says, while rolling his eyes.

"Especially you, Ino," Shikamaru says.

"Oh, hush up," Ino says.

"Yeah," Sakura contributes.

"Just don't go too crazy with my cousin, alright?" Neji says, slowly.

"How about _**all **_of us go to the mall together?" Matsuri suggests.

"Okay!" Ino shouts.

"I like that idea," Sakura says, while smiling.

"I'll be there, believe it," Naruto says.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru says.

"Hn," is Sasuke's excited response.

"Ew, I don't want to go shopping when Ino and Sakura are around. I learned my lesson last time," Tenten says.

**Flashback-**

"No flashbacks, please…" Gaara says.

"Ugh, fine," Tenten says.

"I don't want to go either," Temari says.

"Me neither," Lee says.

"Please, you guys?" Sakura pleads.

"We promise we won't go crazy," Ino adds.

"Ugh, fine, just wipe that look off your face," Temari says.

"Yea!" Ino exclaims.

The rest of my friends reluctantly nod, signaling they'll go too.

"So, Hinata? What do you think?" Ino asks.

"I guess I'll come," I say, smiling.

"Yea! Okay, we'll decide on a day later," Ino says.

"This is going to be fun," Sakura says.

After that, we all continued talking.

Then at about nine thirty, people started to leave.

The girls were welcome to sleep over.

Tenten had to go because she starts work tomorrow.

Temari had to go because her family is going to Suna tomorrow, bright and early.

The guys, of course, go home eventually as well.

Then it's just Ino, Sakura, Matsuri, and I left.

Eventually, Ino falls asleep.

Sakura, Matsuri, and I keep trying not to laugh.

Ino talks in her sleep, that's all I have to say.

The three of us decide to go outside so we don't wake her up mistakenly.

We squish on her hammock in the backyard and talk.

"So, what happened with Naruto?" Sakura asks.

"Nothing. Besides, it doesn't matter. He doesn't like me," I say.

"You don't know that he doesn't," Matsuri says, encouragingly.

"You don't know that he does," I say back.

"Hinata, sometimes you have to take chances. I think you should tell him, since he's too dense to realize it on his own," Sakura says.

"But, what if he doesn't like me and I just end up embarrassing myself?" I ask.

"Then forget him. He'd be an idiot not to give you a chance," Sakura says firmly.

"I don't know," I say.

"Think about it, alright?" Sakura suggests.

I only nod.

"So, is there anyone you guys want to go to go with the formal? Or, a person you want to at least have a dance with at the formal" Matsuri asks, obviously trying to change the subject, which I'm thankful for.

"I think you know," Sakura says while blushing.

Matsuri giggles.

"Well, how about you, Matsuri-chan?" Sakura asks.

"I um..no one really," Matsuri replies.

"Liar," Sakura says, while laughing.

I just smile.

"We know you like Gaara," Sakura continues on.

"What? How'd you know- I mean. No! Who told you-" Sakura interrupts Matsuri's panicking.

"Don't worry, I think it's cute," Sakura says, while smiling.

Matsuri blushes a little and says, "Please don't tell him."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he already knows," Sakura says.

"_Sakura_!" Matsuri exclaims, her blush growing deeper.

"Just kidding," Sakura says, while smiling.

Matsuri pouts.

After a while, Sakura goes back inside because she was starting to fall asleep on the hammock.

Now it was just Matsuri and I.

I'm not as close to Matsuri as I am to the others.

Heck, I'm closer to Sasuke than I am to her, which is why I was surprised when I saw her text last week on Sunday morning. You know, the day after all that crap that happened.

So, I decide to take this opportunity to get to know her even more.

What do I already know about her?

Well, I know she's best friends with that girl…what's her name?

Oh yeah, Sari. She's best friends with Sari.

I also know she has a crush on Gaara and hates shopping with Ino and Sakura.

So, that answers my question.

Not much…

Oh yeah, I just remembered another thing.

She's not a native of Konoha.

So to break the awkward silence, I ask, "So, where did you say you were from?"

"Sunagakure," Matsuri replies, "Most people call it Suna for short."

"Oh, cool," I say, "I've been there a few times. My family's older generation goes there a lot."

"Oh, really? Cool. Maybe we can go there together sometime. Maybe over the summer? That would be fun," Matsuri says, while smiling.

So far , so good.

"Yeah, I agree," I say, smiling back.

We're silent for a few moments until Matsuri asks me, "So how long have you lived here in Konoha?"

"Practically, my whole life," I respond.

"Wow, that's cool, but crazy. It's weird that most of us are just meeting for the first time this year," Matsuri says.

"I moved around A LOT growing up," I explain, "My family swore that this is the last time we'll ever move, but like it matters."

"What do you mean?" Matsuri asks.

"Well, up until now, I always have had trouble making a lot of friends. Pretty much, Tenten, Kiba, Shino, and I suppose Neji, have been my only friends. Well, until this year. I've gotten used to the whole moving thing. Also, I'm afraid something will happen and you guys will…" I don't finish my sentence.

"What? Abandon you?" Matsuri asks, sounding a little offended.

"I…" I start but don't finish. How did she guess?

"We would never do that. We love you too much, promise," Matsuri says, while hugging me.

I hug her back and say, "I know, I just can't help but worry all the time. That's the problem with me."

"Well, don't worry anymore about that, okay?" Matsuri says, firmly.

"Okay," I say, even though I still will worry.

She smiles.

"So, how long have you been in Konoha?" I ask her.

"Quite some time, actually," Matsuri says.

"Oh. What made you move here from Suna?" I ask.

Matsuri doesn't answer.

She lets go of me and lies down on her back on the hammock.

Another awkward silence.

Have I don't something wrong?

"It's getting late," I say, trying to pretend that I never asked that question.

I get out of the hammock slowly.

"Yeah, we should get to sleep…" Matsuri says.

She gets out of the hammock as well.

We both walk inside and walk up the stairs to Ino's bedroom.

Since this sleepover wasn't planned ahead of time, the four of us- Ino, Sakura, Matsuri, and I- are sharing Ino's large bed.

Ino is on the edge of one end of the bed with Sakura lying down next to her.

I let Matsuri get in first.

Then I follow suit.

"Good night," Matsuri says.

"Good night," I say, while turning off Ino's lamp that's on her side table drawer.

I just lay there in bed, thinking about all that happened tonight.

I almost got kissed by the guy I like.

_**Almost**_. Dang it, Temari.

Then I remember what just happened with Matsuri.

Why didn't she answer my question?

Wonder what her story is.

Do our other friends know?

I yawn.

Guess I'll have to find out later.

I close my eyes and slowly drift off.

**I think I like writing long chapters nowadays because I have more of a chance to get my point across xD Anyway thank you for reading. **

**Until Later,**

**Daydreaming Soundly ^_^**


	11. Saved By the Bell? Ha! Not!

**Hey. I was feeling productive, so here you go xD**

**That's all I have to say, I guess. Enjoy.**

**I do not own Naruto…frowny face.**

Hinata's POV

I wake up the next morning, Saturday morning. As I sit up in bed, it takes me a few moments to realize that I'm not in my own room.

I remember I am still at Ino's house.

I look to my left and see that Sakura is still asleep. Ino and Matsuri are nowhere to be found.

I yawn, stretch, and get out of bed. As I am walking to the bathroom, I hear humming and the rummaging of drawers and cupboards coming from downstairs.

I go downstairs and follow the noise to the kitchen. I see Ino busy setting up a coffee maker.

She's wearing a red tank top and dark blue, denim short shorts.

Her hair is in its normal ponytail.

Before I can say a word, she turns around, screams, and quickly covers her mouth.

"I didn't see you there, sorry," she says, looking embarrassed.

I simply smile and say, "Good morning."

"Good morning!" Ino says loudly.

She laughs.

"You're up early," she says.

Hm?

I check the time on the microwave.

**7:30 a.m.**

Wow.

"What about you?" I ask, "Don't you normally get up at two?"

Ino blushes and says, "Yes, but I couldn't go back to sleep for some reason."

"Oh," is my response.

She shrugs.

"Do you want some coffee or tea?" She asks.

"Uh, sure. Tea please," I say.

She gets out two mugs and turns on the stove, which already has a kettle on it.

"So, where's Matsuri?" I ask.

"Matsuri? She went home," Ino says, getting out a small box of tea bags from the cupboard.

"Oh," I say.

I stay quiet.

I hear a chime noise.

I see Ino take her phone out of her back pocket.

She checks it.

She smiles a little.

"Oh, Temari," says.

She types on her phone and puts it back in her pocket.

"She says that she and Shikamaru are going to go TP Sai's house," Ino says, while giggling.

I smile a little.

Our friends are silly.

The kettle starts to whistle and Ino sets up our tea.

We then sit at the dining room table.

At about 8:15, in the morning, obviously, Sakura walks down.

She yawns and says, "Good morning, girlies."

"Good morning!" Ino says loudly, as she did to me earlier.

"Good morning," I say.

"Crap, I have to go to work early today," I hear Ino say.

"Oh, should we go soon?" I ask.

"I guess," Ino says sadly.

"You'll, get over it Ino," Sakura says, jokingly.

Ino shoves her and pouts.

About an forty-five minutes later, Sakura's mom picks Sakura up.

Sakura would have stayed longer, but she has a doctor's appointment or something.

About an hour later, Tenten arrives to pick me up.

"Tenten!" Ino shouts, "My darling Tenten!"

She hugs Tenten, almost taking her to the ground.

"Ino, must it be like this every time you see one of us?" Tenten questions, but can't help but crack a smile.

Ino seems to have that effect on people.

After a few minutes, I go to Ino's room to get my backpack.

I hold my shoes in my hand and walk back down stairs to where I left Ino and Tenten.

"Ready?" Tenten asks.

I nod.

I hug Ino and Tenten does the same.

We say our goodbyes and go to Tenten's car.

As Tenten drive, we talk a little.

"So, how was work?" I ask.

"Good. I didn't spill anything," Tenten says, while laughing.

I laugh with her.

"So, anything new with you?" She asks.

"Not really," I say.

A few moments of silence pass.

"Are you going to go to the dance?" I ask.

"Maybe, you?" She asks.

"I don't know," I reply.

"I think you should. Your first dance at Konoha High School," Tenten says.

I sigh.

"Well, actually, your first dance of all time," Tenten says.

"That's a lie," I say, "Remember I went to one of the eighth grade dances when I was in junior high."

"Sure, but I remember you telling me how it was Hana that kept suggesting you go and you finally gave in," Tenten says.

"No!" I say defensively.

"And how you ended up sitting in the corner awkwardly for-" I interrupt Tenten.

"For an hour and a half while everyone else danced with their little cliques. Kiba's mom had to come pick me up." I say, rolling my eyes, "Thanks for bringing back such happy memories, Tenten."

"I didn't mean to reopen old wounds. My point was, now you have real friends all in the same school as you to go to the dance with and to have fun with," Tenten says.

She does have a point.

"I suppose," I say.

"Hey, maybe you'll get a chance to dance with Naruto," Tenten says.

I wish.

"Yeah," I say, "Hopefully."

A few days go by.

Another Friday, whoopee.

This week has been a very odd one.

For starters…Ino got back together with Sai.

What the heck!

I remember on Tuesday morning how everyone reacted to Ino's news.

"Are you serious?" Sakura had asked.

"You're giving him another chance?" Neji had asked.

"Troublesome," is all that Shikamaru said.

"Shikamaru and I TP-d that bastard's house last night!" Temari had shouted.

"Lee and I egged his car this morning," Choji said, in disbelief.

"Are you fucking serious? That douchebag? Really?" Naruto had shouted so loudly, a few students in the courtyard had turned to look in our direction.

"That's a detention, Uzumaki," Principal Tsunade had said, as she walked past us.

"Detention? Detention my ass motherf-" Sasuke had to cover Naruto's mouth before he said anything more.

Come to think of it, Naruto was in a very bad mood this entire week. I still have yet to find out why.

Anyway, Sasuke had asked Naruto, "What the hell is wrong with you, dude? Do you want to get expelled? Do you want to end up with one of Principal Tsunade's high heels up your ass?"

We all laughed at the last thing Sasuke had said. Rarely does he talk like that.

Or maybe he does and no one hears him?

Naruto had picked up his backpack and walked off.

As he left, he shouted, "And those are lame pranks, by the way!"

"It's probably his time of the month," Kiba had said.

Sakura had punched Kiba's arm.

"Ow!" Kiba had said, holding his arm.

"Anyway, back to Ino," Tenten had said, "You and him are what?"

"Getting back together," Ino said, happily, "I thought you all would be happy that I'm happy."

There was a tense silence.

Ino then looked as if she was going to cry.

Drama queen…

"Well, ugh. Fine," Neji had said.

"We'll give the jackass one more chance," Temari had said.

"If he screws up, we screw up his face," Sakura had said.

"Fine, but he won't," Ino had said, a little to confidently.

But, how is Ino so sure?

Anyway, it's Friday afternoon. I just got back from school and I'm sitting on the couch, watching television.

Though, I'm not really paying attention to the plot of whatever the heck I'm watching.

I'm still thinking over what happened this whole week.

There's the whole Ino and Sai thing.

My guess? Ino must have missed Sai a lot.

Sai must have given her some lame apology, or excuse and she gladly took him back.

You see it all the time, well, at least I do.

Anyway, besides Ino's relationship problems, I'm back to Naruto.

All week, like I said, he's been in a bad mood.

I caught him just as the bell rang, releasing us from school today.

I put my hand on his shoulder as he was putting books in his locker.

He shut his locker and turned around to face me.

"For the last time, leave me alone-" he stopped for some reason, "Oh. Hey, Hinata."

He had smiled at me, but it wasn't one of his famous smiles.

The one that always makes my face heat up.

He had a smile on his face, alright, but his eyes looked so sad.

It was heartbreaking.

"Please," I had said.

"What?" He asked, snapping at me.

"Tell me what's bothering you," I finished.

He sighed.

I just stared right at him.

He stared back, not fake smiling anymore.

"Hinata, it's nothing. I'm fine," He said, "Just leave me alone."

Then he had walked off.

"Naruto?" I called his name, but he still kept walking.

I caught up to him and hugged him from behind.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and put my face on his back.

I then realized just how much taller he is than me.

He, as always, feels warm.

"Hinata, let go," he demanded.

"No," I said.

He stayed quiet.

"I'm worried about you," I said.

"Just go, okay?" Naruto said, "And stop worrying about me, gosh."

"But-" Naruto interrupted me.

"Go **_away_**," he snapped.

I was shocked.

I've never heard him sound this mad before.

Still, I held on to him.

I half expected him to push me off him and keep storming off.

Instead, he just stood there.

So, I held him a little tighter.

"Naruto-" I stop when I barely, just barely, feel him start to tremble.

He then pinned me to one of the lockers.

He stared right at me.

His look was so intense, it scared me a little.

He inched close to me.

His face was so close.

He was so close.

I barely noticed the tears building up in his eyes.

Something bad must be going on

"Why do you care so much?" he asked.

"Well-" he interrupts me.

"**Stop it**, okay? I don't need anyone to sympathize with me. I **_don't_** need anyone, **_especially _**you. Why do you **_care_** so much?" Naruto had snapped.

"You want to know why I care **_so_** much about you, jerk?" I snapped back, surprised at myself and how much I was feeling.

I felt so upset.

It made me upset that it was at **_him_**.

He just stared at me, looking a little shocked.

He even let go of me.

I continued on, "You want to know why? Because I like you, okay?"

"Hinata…" He started to say.

I just ran off, realizing what I had just said.

I'm so stupid.

I ran and ran and ran.

I stopped when I finally couldn't breathe.

I was huffing and puffing so hard.

I looked around and saw I was a few blocks from my neighborhood.

I noticed, also, that the sky looked a little gray, which possibly means rain.

Still, I walked, not caring if it starts pouring, trying to figure out how I would ever face Naruto after that.

Now I'm here, playing mindlessly with my hair.

I wish I hadn't run away from Naruto.

Despite my embarrassment, I still want to know what has been on his mind.

I groan loudly.

Why must I make everything so complicated?

Another thing that has had me concerned is Hanabi.

Lately, she hasn't really been herself.

She seems kind of-

A slurping noise snaps me out of my thoughts.

I look to my right and see Hanabi sitting on the couch, eating a bowl of soup.

Damn…speaking of Hanabi…

"When did you get here?" I ask, stupidly.

"About twenty minutes ago. I would have said something, but you looked so focused and I didn't want to bother you. Now I'm here because I heard you make a groan. A depressed one, though," Hanabi explains.

"Groans can have other emotions?" I ask.

"Well, I don't know. The point is you're upset. Please tell your little sister what's wrong," Hanabi begs.

"Um…" I start out, but don't continue.

"I beseech you?" Hanabi asks, hopefully.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"Never mind. Still, I want to know what's wrong," Hanabi says.

I sigh.

She puts her soup on the coffee table and sighs.

I fix my hair.

She fixes her hair.

I frown.

She frowns.

I cross my legs.

She crosses hers.

I shake my head.

She shakes her head.

"Hanabi?" I ask.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," Hanabi says.

I roll my eyes.

She rolls hers.

"Stop that," I say.

"Stop that," she repeats me.

"You're about six years too old for this," I say.

"You're about six years too old for this," she says back.

"Okay. Stop it. I already have all this stuff going on with everyone I care about. Now, my little sister has the audacity to copy me when I'm so not in the mood for that crap right now," I accidently say.

"A-ha. So this is about your friends," Hanabi says.

What just happened? I think she's playing mind tricks on me…

"No…maybe…" I respond.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"You wouldn't understand," I say.

She sighs and says, "Can I tell you my problem then?"

Her happy, comforting vibe slowly fades after she asks this.

She looks sad now.

I've barely seen her sad.

I feel my heart sink.

"Hanabi? What happened?" I ask.

She only sighs.

I mute the television and patiently wait for her to continue.

"You'll be honest with me right?" she asks, looking right into my eyes.

I have a bad feeling.

I so do not like where this is going…

But, I have said a dozen times before that I never lie.

So, I **_have_** to be honest with her.

So I take a deep breath and say, "Yes, of course."

"I feel like Moegi and I are drifting apart," she says slowly.

What? Just two days ago Moegie and Hanabi were right here in this living room, laughing and pelting each other with gummy bears.

What a mess that made…

"What happened?" I ask.

"Well, recently, she's been hanging out with some girl. It's ridiculous, though. I still don't know her name. Anyway, I don't think her new friend likes me," Hanabi says.

This sounds all too familiar to me.

Why the hell does my sweet, well, most of the time sweet, innocent, well, somewhat innocent, little sister have to go through this? That's not fair.

"Moegie didn't talk to me today. She was too busy with the girl. She didn't sit with me during lunch or in any of my classes," Hanabi adds.

"Wow…so you were alone all day?" I ask, trying not to sound too sad for her.

"Well, not exactly," she says slowly.

"Meaning?" I ask.

"Well, in my first hour, my science class was combined with one of the other science classes in order to watch some video, since there was only one copy of it available. The other class happened to be Moegi's, so she sat with me. At the end though, the girl came up to where we were and whispered to Moegi. I just ignored them and gathered my things. When I put on my backpack, I was about to ask Moegi if she was ready to go, but I look up and see her already walking off with the girl. I could have sworn that the girl turned around for a brief second and smirked at me…" Hanabi says, "So, I just walked out alone."

"Wow..." I say, "This girl sounds..."

I'm not sure what to say.

"Awful? Rude? Yeah, she is," Hanabi says, sighing.

"Did anything happen after that?" I ask.

"Well...Konohamaru was walking by and saw me and came up to me asking why I looked so sad. I told him it was nothing. He looked like he didn't believe me but he changed the subject anyway. He asked me where Moegi was and I shrugged. We then stood there awkwardly," Hanabi says, looking embarrassed.

"Then what happened?" I ask.

"He asked me if it was okay if he walked with me, since his class was on the way," she answers.

I swear I see a slight blush on her face.

It seems as if the mention of Konohamaru does this to her.

How cute.

"Aww," I say.

"Shut up," she says defensively.

Her face becomes redder.

"Anyway, continue," I say, trying not to smile.

"So I said yes, and basically, we walked together the whole day. We would meet up after all our classes and walk together. He even sat with me at lunch. He's so funny. Konohamaru really cheered me up," Hanabi says, once again blushing.

"Hanabi, do you have a little bit of a crush on your friend Konohamaru?" I ask, pretending to be clueless.

"I…yes….yes I do. And I don't think it's a **_little_** crush though…" Hanabi says.

"Oh my God, Hanabi. You have a **_big_** crush on him. So cute. This is your first crush right? How long have you liked Konohamaru?" I ask, trying not to squeal, like Ino would do in this situation.

For a brief moment, I forget about my situation with Naruto and Ino's relationship issues.

"When was it he, Moegi, and I met again?" Hanabi asks, hiding her face behind her hands.

She's had a crush on him since they were eight?

"Hanabi. That's so cute!" I exclaim.

"Please don't tell," Hanabi begs.

I laugh.

Who the heck would I tell, exactly?

But still, I say, "I promise, I won't, Hanabi."

She looks relieved.

"Whatever happened to that kid you met on the first day of school?" I ask, remembering...Inari. Was that his name?

"Oh, well he already has friends he either met last year at school or has known since elementary school. I felt like I was intruding...so I haven't sat next to him since the first day of school," Hanabi explains, "And we haven't talked either so...yeah..."

"Oh..." I say.

"But it's fine," Hanabi says, "I don't really care, actually."

She still looks sad though.

"Is there anything else bothering you, sis?" I ask.

"Well…" she starts.

"Yes?" I ask.

"Do you…do you think I'm-" the sound of the phone ringing interrupts Hanabi.

She, rather eagerly, goes to answer it.

I unmute the television.

I hear Hanabi talking, happily.

Should I ease drop?

Nah, I'll let her have so privacy, this time.

Hanabi comes back, beaming.

"Konohamaru called. He wanted to know how I was doing," she says.

"Aww," I reply.

She smiles.

"He also mentioned how he and a few people were going to the movies tomorrow. He kind of hinted that I should come…it wasn't a very subtle hint though," Hanabi says, giggling, "But, a hint is a hint I guess. Um…can I go?" Hanabi asks, shyly.

"You're asking me? Shouldn't you ask the elders or our parents?" I ask.

She frowns and says, "Like they care…"

"True. By the time you would get back, our parents would probably not be home anyway. As for the elders…I know how you feel about them…" I say.

"Yeah…you think Neji or Hana could give me a ride?" She asks.

"Maybe. I'll call them tonight, okay?"

"Thanks," She says, smiling.

We then watch the television together for about an hour until I hear Hanabi yawn.

"I think I'm going to go to bed," she says.

"Okay. Goodnight," I say.

"Goodnight," she says back while hugging me.

She then goes upstairs.

I go upstairs as well after about half an hour.

I change into a white t-shirt and black pajama pants.

A few minutes later, the bell rings.

It's then I realize it's pouring outside.

Who could possibly be waiting in the rain at the door?

The pizza guy?

I run downstairs to the door.

I can barely see anything through the peephole of the door.

I fix my hair and open it just a crack.

"H-H-Hinata?" I hear a familiar voice.

I open the door wider.

"N-N-Naruto?" I ask, shocked.

"**_I would rather have it be a pizza guy"_** I think to myself.

Dammit.

"I feel the same way," he says.

"**_Excuse _**me?" I ask, confused.

Did he read my thoughts?

"I like you too," he says.

I feel my face heat up, which is nothing new when it comes to this boy.

And then, I faint.

I **_freaking_** faint.

…

I wake up and find myself laying down on the couch in the living room.

I feel something cold on my forehead.

When I fully open my eyes, I see Naruto kneeling down by beside the couch.

One of his hands is holding an ice pack on my forehead, under my bangs.

His other hand is twirling my hair.

He's staring off into space, so he probably hasn't noticed I'm awake.

I want to sit up, but I honestly like how he playing with my hair.

I also think it's sweet of him to be holding the ice pack to my head.

Was he that concerned?

I fainted in front of him.

I'm so stupid.

Why do I suck so much at dealing with emotions?

I silently groan.

Though, I guess not silent enough because Naruto turns to look at me.

"Hey there," Naruto says, giving me a worried smile.

"H-hi," I respond.

"You feeling alright?" He asks.

I nod slowly.

I then try to sit up, but he stops me.

"You don't have to get up. Are you sure you're okay?" Naruto asks.

I ignore him, gently move his hands away, and sit up.

"Ow, my head," I say, now realizing how much pain I was in.

"No kidding. You bonked your head when you fainted," he says slowly.

I only groan again, still feeling embarrassed.

He puts his hand on my knee and says, "Um…I…"

He doesn't continue.

"Do you want to sit?" I ask, scooting a little to one side and patting the space beside me.

He sits down, but we avoid eye contact.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Naruto says, "You know, I think we're both making this more awkward than it really is."

I feel myself start to blush.

I do admit, though, he has a point.

Still, I stay quiet, hoping he doesn't notice how red my face is probably turning.

"After all, at Ino's house…weren't we about to…kiss," Naruto continues.

I look up at him.

I see him staring right back at me.

"I mean, shouldn't that have hinted that we probably…have some sort of feeling for each other?" Naruto adds.

I actually see a small blush forming on his cheeks.

He looks embarrassed.

He's so adorable!

Geez, I sound like Ino.

Not that that's a bad thing.

Don't get me wrong, I love Ino.

Anyway, Naruto keeps talking, "Or…am I wrong?"

I think for a second.

What if he was just caught up in the moment?

What if he really doesn't like me?

Do I even like him?

My head hurts even more now.

"I don't think you're wrong…"I say slowly, "But, do you believe what you're saying?"

"Why would you even ask that?" he says, with his famous goofy grin on his face.

"You sound**_ so_** offended," I say, jokingly.

"I am. Don't you see…I think I've liked you ever since I met you," he says, blushing even more.

I'm in shock.

It must have shown on my face because Naruto asks, "You look so surprised. Why?

"Well…well…because normally, I'm not the type that guys tend to have a crush on. What's there to like about me? I stutter way too much, I'm a blushing fool a majority of the time, I'm clumsy, and…sometimes I pretend to be what I'm not….I don't like showing people the real me…" I say, immediately regretting letting those words come out of my mouth.

Great, now he's giving me a weird look.

But Naruto does something I don't expect.

He takes my hands in his and looks me in the eyes.

"I stutter too, I think your blush is cute, I'm not exactly a balanced person myself, and…you don't have to pretend when you're with me," he says firmly.

I feel my heart flutter.

How sweet.

We start inching closer.

Alright, no interruptions this time.

Don't screw this up, Hinata.

He closes his eyes and I close mine as well.

Before our lips touch, I hear the doorbell ring.

Really?

"I-I should get that," I say reluctantly.

He nods and smiles.

I get up and answer the freaking door.

I see Tenten standing there, with her favorite backpack in hand. It's shaped like a panda.

She looks exhausted.

"Tenten, are you okay? Come in," I say while taking her hand and pulling her inside.

She shuts the door behind her.

"What brings you here?" I ask.

She's supposed to be at her aunt and uncle's house in Otogakure.

It takes almost 2 hours by car, which is why I'm a little surprised that she's here.

"Um…my aunt and uncle were fighting….it brought back too many memories…" Tenten says slowly.

It takes me a second, then I remember what she's talking about.

"I couldn't take it," she continues.

I hug her.

"Thanks," she says, but she doesn't return the hug.

I let go of her.

"Hey…when did you get here Naruto?" Tenten asks, finally noticing Naruto.

"When my mother and father fell in love, got married, and my mother gave birth to me…twenty-eight hours of labor that she will **_never_** let me forget. How about you, Tenten? When did you get here?" Naruto asks.

I giggle.

"You're **_so _**funny, knucklehead," Tenten says, sarcastically.

"I know right? I should be a comedian," Naruto says, flashing his famous grin.

"Ha ha," Tenten says.

She takes off her shoes as I go back to Naruto.

He stands up.

"I guess I better go," he says.

Aw….why?

Though, I respond with, "Okay, see ya."

He smiles and I smile back.

He then hugs me and I hug him back.

We stay like this for a few moments until Tenten says, "Should I leave?"

We quickly let go of each other.

We look at each other, then at Tenten, who is smirking at us.

"Good bye, Hinata…Bye kunai witch…." Naruto says, with a goofy smile on his face.

"Whatever, knucklehead," Tenten says.

"Well ladies, my ride's here," Naruto says, while checking his phone.

Then he walks out the door, shutting it behind him.

I sit on the couch and Tenten sits next to me.

"Sorry for ruining your moment," Tenten apologizes, looking guilty.

"It's fine," I say, while smiling.

"So how are you?" she asks.

"Confused. You?" I ask back.

"I'm okay...now, that is. And confused about what?" She asks.

I hesitate.

"You can tell me anything, Hinata. You know that right?" Tenten says, with a smile.

I sigh and say, "It's about Naruto….we almost kissed for the second time…almost."

"REALLY?" Tenten shouts.

I nod and squeak, "Yes."

"Aw. So cute! And almost? Why almost? And second? There was a first? Tell me!" She exclaims.

"The first time was at Ino's house when we went outside. Temari texted me on your phone and the sound scared both of us," I say.

"Oh. That's why you looked pissed off," Tenten says, while laughing.

"The second time was moments before you rang the bell," I say.

"Oh God…I'm so sorry Hina-chan," Tenten says, looking even more guilty.

"It's fine, you didn't know," I say.

"But still…this would be your first kiss, right?" Tenten asks.

I nod slowly.

"I remember my first kiss…" Tenten says slowly.

"Who was it with?" I ask.

"Neji, duh. I never told you?" Tenten asks, while laughing.

I feel stupid.

"Neji's the only guy I've dated," Tenten continues.

"What about that guy from your karate class you always talked about?" I ask.

"We're not going to talk about that douchebag right now," Tenten says, in a dangerous tone.

"Okay…just don't kill me, alright?" I ask.

"It's alright," Tenten says while laughing, "But…that guy and I never really went out. We hung out once at the mall, that was about it."

"Oh yeah," I say, remembering.

"But Neji…he's different. Yes, we argue a lot and sometimes take breaks from one another, but we still stay strong. He's the best guy ever. I don't care if I've only date him. I wouldn't have it any other way. I think….I think I love him," Tenten says.

She starts to blush a little.

Wow. I don't think I've ever seen Tenten this emotional since…since her parents-

Tenten interrupts my thoughts, "If you tell him or anyone I said that, I will kill you," she says.

There's my Tenten. Tough and never wanting to get mushy and show her true feelings.

"O-okay," I stutter.

"I just don't want people knowing I can get mushy. It will ruin the tough exterior I've built for myself," Tenten says, while blushing even harder.

I pat her knee, "It's not bad to admit you love-"

"Shh! He might hear you," Tenten says, while covering my mouth with her hand.

I giggle and bite her hand.

"Ow…you're such a brat," she says while shaking her hand.

I giggle again.

She joins in.

After a while, we put in a movie, but end up not really watching it.

We talk some more the entire time.

A few times, I must have started to nod off because Tenten kept telling me to go to bed.

Of course, being the brat I am, I refused each time.

The next thing I know, I'm finally out cold as I give in to sleep.

I don't wake up until the next morning.

**Longest chapter I have ever written, haha. Well, thanks for reading. I will update again when I get the chance. I apologize if I missed any mistakes.**

**Anyway,**

**Until Later,**

**DaydreamingSoundly ^_^**


	12. It's Too Early for This

**Hey! I'm back (after years, I know. Sorry! :/) A few months ago, I started getting into the Naruto manga again. Before I knew it, I got to the last chapter (D:) So, I decided to start writing for this again, since I finally found some inspiration. Also, I really wanted to finish this story and I finally have time to (hopefully).**  
><strong>Without further ado...<strong>  
><strong>Oh, one more thing. From the beginning, I wanted to write from the perspectives of all characters. Hinata is still the main character, so most of the story will still be told from her view, but I wanted to include other characters as well, whether they are more minor or have a bigger role. I feel it will help the story along and will make it more interesting since we get to see certain things from different eyes, you know? :)<strong>  
><strong>Okay, I'm done ranting (hope this works)<strong>

**Sasuke's POV**

**(**This chapter takes place about 2 months after the last one**)**  
>My name is Sasuke.<p>

Um...I'm not exactly sure what else to say other than, I'm on my way to school.

I'm so tired.

Normally, before Itachi, my older brother, started college this year, I would ride to school with him.

Now that he's in Kirigakure, my parents drop me off.

Though, it depends when all of us get up in the morning, as both my parents go to work in the morning. My father is a member of the Konoha Military Police and my mother teaches brats at some private school.

My father was called in very early this morning, so it's my mother who is driving me today.

I have my license, but no car. I normally drive one of my parents' cars, but they need them on weekdays, normally, though. Usually on the days neither of my parents can drive me, I either ride my bike or get a ride from one of my friends who live near me.

I have no problem just riding my bike everyday, but it's my parents that do.

Getting to school is no problem, but I know going back home after school is going to be, especially since sports season is going to start and other extracurricular activities that will most likely make me come home after the sun has gone down.  
>I don't understand the big deal, though, we live in a, generally, safe area. Still, I'm not complaining, I guess.<p>

After all, who doesn't enjoy being driven around?

"So, are you going to try out for any sports or go out for any clubs this year?" my mother asks.

"Probably soccer and maybe a club or two, undecided with the latter though," I respond.

"That's good you want to be more involved this year, normally you're kind of...withdrawn," she says.

Well...I guess that's kind of true.

"Well...if people weren't so annoying..." I say.

"Obviously, deep down, you don't think that about all people," my mother says, laughing.

"Huh?" I ask.

"Your friends? They're quite the bunch, Sasuke," she says, smiling and shaking her head.

She's telling me?

"Yeah, they are," I say, shrugging.

"So, it's obvious that you really aren't annoyed with the whole world, just the people who aren't in you're world," she continues.

She pulls into the Konoha High Parking lot.

"It seems like you have a friend waiting for you," my mother says, as I'm gathering my things.

I look at her and see her looking past me, out my window, smiling.

I look out my window and see Sakura standing outside of the gate entrance to the school. She's leaning against a wall, ear phones in and typing on her phone.

"How are you so sure she's waiting for me?" I ask, looking back at my mother

Just then there is a tap on the window.

I look again and see Sakura standing there.

She waves.

She takes a step back and I open the car door.

"Good morning, Mrs. Uchiha," Sakura greets my mother.

"Good morning, dear," my mother greets back, smiling.

"Good morning Sasuke," Sakura greets me, "I was just waiting for you."

She smiles at me and I get out of the car.

"What do you know? Mom gets it right, again," My mother mumbles.

I can hear the smirk in her voice.

"Good bye, mother," I say, closing the door, as she starts to laugh.

She honks and drives off.

"So, how are you?" Sakura asks.

"Tired," I say.

"Yeah, Mondays do that," Sakura says, smiling.

I smile back.

We walk together until we reach the spot our group has grown accustomed to meeting at every morning in the past few month, which is by a huge tree.  
>When we get there, we see that Hinata, Kiba, Tenten, Neji, Shino, and Lee are there. Hinata is sitting down with her back against the tree, listening to music with her eyes closed, while Kiba is lying down on his back with his head next to her, reading a book. Shino is sitting on the other side of Hinata, talking to Tenten who is sitting next to him. Neji is sitting next to Tenten and is looking at something on a phone with Lee, who is sitting next to him.<p>

Neji and Tenten are holding hands.

"Hey guys," Sakura greets.

They all look at us.

Kiba closes his book and sits up, Hinata takes her ear phones out and wraps it around her phone, while Tenten starts looking through her backpack then closes it and Neji hands the phone to Lee, who puts it in his back pack.

They all stand up.

"Hey," Kiba says, while stretching.

He smiles.

Hinata waves, Tenten smiles, Neji nods at us, and Lee-

"Hello my youthful friends!" he exclaims.

Tenten groans while Neji shakes his head.

Kiba laughs and Hinata giggles.

Shino doesn't do anything.

"Where is everyone?" Sakura asks.

"Well, the only person I've heard from is Matsuri, she's in the library," Tenten says.

"Let's go visit her?" Kiba suggests.

We all agree and walk into the school.  
>...<p>

Just as Tenten is about to open the door to the library, Matsuri walks out.

"Oh! Hey, guys," she greets, "I was going to go looking for you all..."

She looks at all of us and frowns.

"Well, not all I guess?" she says, unsurely, "Where is everyone?"

We all shrug.

"Well, I know Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro just arrived," Matsuri says, putting her phone in her back pocket.

"Believe it!"

Wonder who that could be...

We all turn and see Shikamaru and Chouji walking with Naruto trailing them. Shikamaru looks annoyed, while Chouji looks smug.  
>Naruto is smirking.<p>

"You guys are pissing me the hell off," Shikamaru says.

They finally reach us.

"Why are you guys tormenting Shikamaru?" Kiba asks.

"Because it's fun," Chouji says.

"You have a point," Kiba says, laughing.

Then, after, surprise, Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro join our group, making us almost complete.

"That is the last time I let you drive my car," Temari says to Kankuro.

To the rest of us, she asks, "What's up, guys?"

"Not much," Naruto says, "I don't want to be here."

"I second that," Kiba says.

"I'm so tired," Matsuri says.

"Guys, we're only like 2 and half months into the first semester," Temari says, laughing.

Everyone laughs.

"Well, even that's too much," Chouji says, still laughing.

After a few minutes of hanging out in the hallway, Tenten says, "Guys, we're short one blond."

"Yeah, where's Ino?" Kiba asks.

"Probably with Sai," Sakura says, rolling her eyes.

"Or hanging out with Karin," Naruto says.

Sakura shoots him a glare.

"It was a joke! Sorry!" he exclaims.

"I know it was a joke," she says, lightly punching his arm, smiling, "I just don't like mentioning Karin's name."

"Why?" Kankuro asks.

"Because I feel like the more we say her name, the higher her power meter rises," Sakura says.

"You're such a weirdo, Haruno," Tenten says, laughing.

"I don't know, I'd have to agree with pinkie on this one," Temari says.

"Karin," Kiba whispers.

"Karin," Naruto says, a little bit louder than kiba, but still whispering.

"Karin,"Kankuro says in an even louder whisper.

"Karin," Tenten says, in her normal volume of speaking.

"Karin," Matsuri says, louder.

"Karin," Chouji says, louder than Matsuri.

"Karin!" Lee shouts.

"Assholes," Sakura deadpans.

We all start to laugh again.

We stop when we see Karin and some of her friends walking our way.

Karin.

Well, she can be a bitch...but I still talk to her.

She's never really done anything to me, personally, but she hasn't been such a great force in my other friends' lives, which is why I mostly keep socializing with her, Suigetsu, and Juugo out of school to avoid, or at least try to avoid, touble.

Sakura knows I talk to them, and I know she hates it, but she's never verbally expressed it...to me that is.

Is it wrong of me to be friends with them?

Probably, but I don't think it should be that big of a deal.

After all, Ino is still with Sai and the others have finally accepted it and Karin, when you really get to know her, isn't that bad.

And Hinata is friends with Konan, Nagato, Sasori, and Deidara.

I talk to all of them, due to Itachi being close friends with them before he graduated.

As nice as they are to Hinata and I, I do admit that Konan can be pretty cold, which is saying something, coming from me and all.

Not that I would ever admit that out loud...

Nagato, I haven't talked to as much, but I can tell is really serious and somewhat stoic, making people mistake him as unapproachable. Sasori can be as nice as he is mean, which probably makes little sense, but whatever.

Deidara...he is something else.

From a first glance, he seems like a hot-tempered, "brat."

Quotes around brat because that's Sasori's nickname for him, for some odd reason.

But when you get to know him, he's actually a really "laid-back" type of person.

He can be a jerk though.

Karin is walking in the middle with Kin to her left, Tayuya to her right. Some brunette I vaguely recognize is on the other side of Kin, while Guren, some junior that I don't really talk to is on the other side of Tayuya.

Wow, Karin and Kin seem to be recruiting all sorts of people to be a part of their group.

Unless, they normally do hang out and I just never pay attention.

Guren _is_ in a different grade after all.

"Hey, guys," Kin says, rolling her eyes, obviously not meaning the greeting.

"This is a hallway, not some geek-hangout spot," Karin says.

"Guys!"

We turn and see Ino running towards us with a red paper in her hand. She quickly stops in her tracks when she notices Karin and her group. She, for a second, looks caught off guard, then catches herself.

"Uh..hey, Karin..." she says, looking away.

Karin folds her arms and rolls her eyes.

"Having fun hanging out with your supposed real friends?" Karin asks, putting air quotes around the word real.

"Why don't you get lost, Karin," Ino says, folding her hands, accidently dropping the paper in the process.

"Real smooth," Tayuya says, while Kin snorts.

Guren picks up the paper before Ino can react.

She laughs.

"You're not serious, right?" she asks, smirking at Ino.

Guren hands the paper to Karin.

"Check it out," she says, when Karin gives her a confused look.

Karin holds it and studies it, while Kin, Tayuya, and unnamed brunnette look over her shoulder. Karin laughs, while Kin giggles, and Tayuya smirks.

Unnamed brunnette continues to look at the paper.

"You're joking, right?" Kin asks Ino.

Ino unfolds her arm, looking at them.

"You think you actually have a chance?" Karin says.

"You obviously don't know when you should just accept your failures," Guren says.

Karin laughs again.

"How are you so sure?" Ino asks, folding her arms again, looking Guren straight in the eye.

"Because I am," Guren says.

"Nice argument," Ino scoffs.

"Face it, there will be plenty to choose from," Kin says, "Plenty that are, and will always be, better than you."

"Wanna bet?" Ino asks.

"We don't have to, it's already written in the stars," Guren says, smirking.

"Besides, the only decent thing you have to bet is your popular, but daft, boyfriend," Kin says.

"Someone like me, in comparison to you, doesn't need to bet to get him crawling back," Karin says, "I snap my fingers and he'll take me, andanyone else, with open arms."

Ino looks shocked.

"Aw, did I strike a nerve?" Karin asks, in a mocking tone.

Even_ I_ really wish she would cool down with the insults.

"I..." Ino is speechless.

Well, that's a first.

"Listen, Karin-"

The bell rings, cutting Sakura off before she can defend Ino.

"You better watch yourself, Ino" Karin says, "You and your little friends."

She walks off with Kin and Tayuya following her.

Guren shoves the paper at Ino.

"Here, wannabe," she scoffs, walking in the other direction.

Unnamed brunnette stays though, for some odd reason.

She is staring past our direction.

We follow her eyes and see she's having a stare off with Matsuri.

"Matsuri..." unnamed brunnette says.

"Yukata..." Matsuri says back.

"Are you coming or not, Yukata!?" Guren, who's now at the end of the hall, shouts.

Yukata rolls her eyes and turns around.

"Coming!" she shouts back, jogging down the hall, that's starting to fill with other students.

"What was that?" Ino asks.

"She and I...used to be friends...she, Sari, and I...then...Kin came in and now..." Matsuri doesn't finish.

She only gestures towards the direction Karin, Tayuya, and Kin walked in.

"That group at it again," Sakura shakes her head.

She looks at Ino, who still looks upset.

"What is that anyway?" she asks her, gesturing to the paper Ino is now glaring at.

"It's nothing," Ino says, "Nothing anymore."

Ino crumples the paper and tosses it into the recycling bin.

"Let's go, or we'll be late to Health, Hinata," Ino says.

"Oh, um...okay, Ino-chan," Hinata says.

Ino starts walking off.

Hinata glances at us, confused.

"You should probably go with her," Shikamaru says.

"Yeah, we'll catch up later," Tenten says.

Hinata nods.

She turns around and catches up with Ino.

Tenten goes to the recycling bin and pulls out the paper and uncrumples it.

She walks back to us, while studying it.

"So, what was it?" Kiba asks.

Tenten shows us the paper.

It reads:  
><strong>CheerleadingPep Squad Try-Outs**  
><strong>Who:<strong> Everyone welcome  
><strong>When:<strong> Tomorrow  
><strong>Time:<strong> Right after school  
>Come on down and show off what you got! Make sure to bring a friend along.<br>See you there!

**Thank you for reading. Hope it was good haha. I feel weird since I haven't written for fun in a while, but I'm sure I will get back into the swing of things (eventually). Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Until later, **

**DaydreamingSoundly ^_^**


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